Rate of bacterial contamination of electrotherapy pads used in the physiotherapy clinics

  Introduction: Careful planning on health care may prevent the spread of disease and reduce the expense for treatment. Regarding the importance of health care in the clinical centers including physiotherapy clinics, this study was designed to investigate the rate of bacterial contamination of electrotherapy’s pads which use in the physiotherapy clinics of Semnan University of Medical Sciences (Iran).   Material and Methods: 20 electrotherapy’s pads were sampled from three physiotherapy clinics. In order to find any contamination, the samples were cultured in the Medical School’s microbiology laboratory. A questionnaire was used to collect data about the method of washing and sterilizing used in the physiotherapy clinics.   Results: The laboratory results showed all sampled pads were infected, while different pattern of contamination were seen among clinics. Normal skin flora of bacteria was found in the sampled pads from two clinics that used normal washing method and Whitex sterilizing method, while more varieties of contamination including Klebsiella, Serratia and Enterobacteria were found in the other clinic that used just normal washing method.   Conclusion: The results indicated that the all sampled pads were contaminated and this could be considered as a potential factor for transfer contamination between patients and therapists. These results confirm the importance of using substituting methods such as disposable pad, sterile electrolyte jell, and or using standard sterilizing method to disinfect the electrotherapy pads. More research is needed to control and prevent the ways of transfer contaminations in the physiotherapy clinics.