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Especies de Aspergillus en ambientes hospitalarios con pacientes pediátricos en estado crítico

2013; Elsevier BV; Volume: 31; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.riam.2013.09.007

2173-9188

Mariana S. Fernández, María E. Cattana, Florencia Rojas, María de los Ángeles Sosa, Clarisa Aguirre, Mercedes Vergara, Gustavo Giusiano,

Indoor Air Quality and Microbial Exposure

Aspergillus is a group of opportunistic fungi that cause infections, with high morbimortality in immunosuppressed patients. Aspergillus fumigatus is the most frequent species in these infections, although the incidence of other species has increased in the last few years.To evaluate the air fungal load and the diversity of Aspergillus species in hospitals with pediatric patients in critical condition.The Intensive Care Unit and Burns Unit of a pediatric hospital were sampled every 15 days during the autumn and spring seasons. The air samples were collected with SAS Super 100(®) and the surface samples were collected by swab method.The UFC/m(3) counts found exceeded the acceptable levels. The UFC/m(3) and the diversity of Aspergillus species found in the Intensive Care Unit were higher than those found in the Burns Unit. The fungal load and the diversity of species within the units were higher than those in control environments. The use of both methods -SAS and swab- allowed the detection of a higher diversity of species, with 96 strains of Aspergillus being isolated and 12 species identified. The outstanding findings were Aspergillus sydowii, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus terreus and Aspergillus parasiticus, due to their high frequency. Aspergillus fumigatus, considered unacceptable in indoor environments, was isolated in both units.Aspergillus was present with high frequency in these units. Several species are of interest in public health for being potential pathogenic agents. Air control and monitoring are essential in the prevention of these infections.