• Yen-Hung Wu, Chao-Ju Chen, Hsiu-Yueh Wu, I Chen, Yi-Hsuan Chang, Pei-Hsuan Yang, Tzu-Yi Wang, Li-Chin Chen, Kuan-Ting Liu, I-Jeng Yeh, Deng-Chyang Wu, Ming-Feng Hou, Hsin-Liang Liu, and Wen-Hui Su.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2020 Oct 30; 99 (44): e22910e22910.

IntroductionUsing mobile phones for communication in emergency departments is a common practice; however, several studies have demonstrated that they may act as vectors for bacteria and viruses. This study evaluated the effectiveness of plastic wrapping in decreasing bacterial contamination on mobile phone surfaces.MethodWe used culture dishes and a luminometer to detect bacterial colonies and contamination on the phone surfaces.ResultOur experiment showed that bacterial colonies exist on mobile phones before and after work. We found that wiping with 75% alcohol sanitizers effectively reduces the number of colonies on either a mobile phone or a temporary plastic covering. In addition, we found that bacterial colonies do not contaminate or adhere to plastic wrap any easier than to mobile phones.ConclusionThese results demonstrated the effectiveness of plastic wrap for protecting mobile phone surfaces against bacterial colonization. In addition, applying a layer of plastic wrap protects the phone from potential damage due to the alcohol.

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