• Akira Kuriyama, Shinichiro Ienaga, and Hiroyuki Fujii.
• Emergency and Critical Care Center, Kurashiki Central Hospital, Okayama, Japan.
• J Eval Clin Pract. 2023 Dec 1; 29 (8): 124712501247-1250.

Rationale, Aims And ObjectivesCleaning smartphones of healthcare workers (HCWs) is generally recommended; however, most previous studies on bacterial contamination of smartphones assessed touchscreens alone. This study compared the prevalence of bacterial contamination on touchscreens and posterior surfaces of smartphones owned by HCWs.MethodA cross-sectional study of smartphones used by HCWs working at an emergency department (ED) at a Japanese tertiary care hospital was conducted. Bacteria on each surface of the smartphones were isolated separately. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the prevalence of microbial contamination on each surface of the smartphones and the types of associated bacterial species. Fisher's exact test was used to compare dichotomous outcomes.ResultsThe smartphones of 40 HCWs working in the ED of a Japanese tertiary care hospital were examined. The touchscreens and posterior surfaces were contaminated in 26 (65.0%) and 36 (90.0%) smartphones, respectively, indicating the posterior surface was more frequently contaminated (p = 0.014). Bacillus species and coagulase-negative staphylococci were most frequently isolated from each surface of the smartphones.ConclusionsThe posterior surface of a smartphone was more significantly contaminated with bacteria than the touchscreen. Both surfaces of smartphones need to be cleaned to prevent bacterial contamination in healthcare environments.© 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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