ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: It is known that floor, clothes, shoes and slippers of common uses are the sources of infection by dermatophytes. However there hasn't been any report about the culture of dermatopytes from slippers in operating room. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the contamination status of the slippers in operating room by dermatophytes and the effect of antifungal agent disinfection. METHODS: The samples were collected from 240 pairs of slippers that were used in common at operating room of Daegu Catholic University Medical Center with scrapping method. The collected samples were cultured on the media with chloramphenicol (500 mg/L) and cycloheximide (500 mg/L) to control the growth of nondermatophytic fungi. The same collection and culture was done again after the antifungal agent (terbinafine) disinfection. RESULTS: Dermatophytes were isolated from 22 (9.2%) pairs of slippers from a total of 240 pairs before the treatment, and 9 (3.8%) pairs after the treatment. There was significant difference in isolation rate between the slippers before the treatment and after the treatment (p=0.016). Trichophyton (T.) mentagrophytes and T. rubrum were isolated from the slippers and T. mentagrophytes (54.8%) was the most common isolated fungus. CONCLUSION: About ten percent of slippers in operation room were contaminated by dermatophytes. Regular antifungal agent disinfection on slippers in operating room will help to decrease in the prevalence of dermatophytes growth and prevent the nosocomial infection.