Fungal contamination of hospital mattresses before and following cleaning and disinfection

摘要

OBJECTIVE: To verify the existence of fungal contamination prior to and following the cleaning and disinfection process of hospital mattresses used by patients with Candidemia. METHODS: Cross-sectional study analyzing 25 mattresses used by patients with Candidemia confirmed by blood culture from different hospital wards. The study made use of convenience samples. After growing the samples in an Agar Sabouraud Dextrose environment, isolated yeasts were identified by macroscopic, microscopic and physiologic characteristics. RESULTS: Analyses showed 15 (60%) mattresses contaminated by Candida spp. From these, 10 (66.7%) and five (33.3%) mattresses corresponded respectively to the collection prior to and following disinfection, with Candida parapsilosis being the isolated species with the highest frequency. CONCLUSION: Considering that half of the mattresses remained contaminated after cleaning and disinfection, there is a risk that these mattresses may act as potential secondary reservoirs in the infection chain.