Aeromycological study at the intensive care unit of the "Dr. Manuel Gea Gonzalez" General Hospital

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: An aeromycological study verifies the presence and quantifies the concentration of fungal propagules in the air. It is very important in the hospital setting because of the increasing numbers of immunosuppressed and severely ill patients. The objective of this study was to determine the concentration of fungi in the air of the intensive care unit (ICU) of "Dr. Manuel Gea González" General Hospital. METHODS: This is a descriptive, observational cross-sectional study. Air samples were obtained with a single stage Thermo-Andersen Viable Particle Sampler (Thermo Electron Corporation -Massachusetts, U.S.A.) in a Petri dish with potato dextrose agar for 15 minutes at two different times (morning and afternoon) and heights (1 and 1.5 meters). The Petri dishes were incubated for five to seven days at 27ºC, the number of colonies was counted, and the total CFU/m³ was determined. The isolated fungal genera were identified by morphological features. Epi Info v. 3.4.3 © was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The mean concentration of fungi in the air of the ICU was 85.08 ± 29.19 CFU/m³; while in the outside air it was 84.3 ± 17.23 CFU/m³ (p = 0.96). The fungi isolated were: Cladosporium spp., Penicillium spp., Aspergillus spp. (non-fumigatus), Fusarium spp., Exophiala spp., Syncephalastrum spp., and Acremonium spp. DISCUSSION: Fungal spores were found in the air of the ICU and Cladosporium spp. was the most frequently isolated fungi. There was no difference according to sampling time or height.