By Cheree Cleghorn, Editor

Stand at least forty inches away from your hospital patient with that cell phone, please.

Reuters reports today on a study from Critical Care, a Dutch medical journal, which says that people with cell phones should stay one metre (39.37″) away from patients.

According to Reuters:

“Critical care equipment is vulnerable to electromagnetic interference by new-generation wireless telecommunication technologies with median distances of about 3 centimeters,” [the study's authors] wrote.

The study contradicts a study earlier this year from researchers at the Mayo Clinic who found that 300 tests over a five-month period turned up no noticeable interference with important hospital equipment due to regular cell phone use.

Citation:

• The Netherlands Journal of Critical Care (Neth J Crit Care)