The indoor air as a potential determinant of the frequency of invasive aspergillosis in the intensive care

Summary Invasive aspergillosis (IA) seems to be an emerging condition in intensive care units (ICUs). However, little attention has been given to the role of environmental factors that could increase the risk for IA in the ICU. The objective of this study was to determine the concentration of airbor...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Mycoses Vol. 56; no. 5; pp. 527 - 531
Main Authors:	Boff, Cristiane, Zoppas, Barbara C. D. A., Aquino, Valério R., Kuplich, Nádia M., Miron, Diogo, Pasqualotto, Alessandro C.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Germany Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-09-2013
Subjects:	Air Microbiology Air Pollution, Indoor Aspergillus Aspergillus - isolation & purification Aspergillus spp Brazil Colony Count, Microbial COPD Humans Intensive Care Units Invasive aspergillosis Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis - epidemiology Prevalence six-stage Andersen® sampler Brazil six-stage Andersen® sampler Invasive aspergillosis Aspergillus spp COPD
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Summary Invasive aspergillosis (IA) seems to be an emerging condition in intensive care units (ICUs). However, little attention has been given to the role of environmental factors that could increase the risk for IA in the ICU. The objective of this study was to determine the concentration of airborne fungi in three Brazilian ICUs, in an attempt to correlate fungal burden with the frequency of Aspergillus spp isolation from clinical samples of patients hospitalised in these units. During a 1‐year period we quantitatively evaluated the presence of fungi in the air of three ICUs in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The quantity of fungi was correlated with environmental factors. Only one of the ICUs studied showed equal concentrations of Aspergillus conidia in the indoor air, in comparison with the outdoor environment. All cases of Aspergillus colonisation and IA cases observed during the study occurred in that particular ICU. Environmental factors have a direct influence on fungal spore concentration in the air in ICUs, as well as air filtration systems in air conditioners. Fungal contamination of the indoor air may influence the frequency of AI in ICU patients.
Bibliography:	ArticleID:MYC12070 istex:4DCE00CFA24CA8C3639298BA2CDFF3568B154BA5 ark:/67375/WNG-ZLW8W9DD-M ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-2 ObjectType-Feature-1
ISSN:	0933-7407 1439-0507
DOI:	10.1111/myc.12070