Failure of the Sterile Air-Flow Component of a Protected Environment Detected by Demonstration of Chaetomium Species Colonization of Four Consecutive Immunosuppressed Occupants
| Autor: | Gail L. Woods, William P. Vaughan, J. Calvin Davis |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1988 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Male 0301 basic medicine Microbiology (medical) Bone marrow transplant medicine.medical_specialty Epidemiology medicine.medical_treatment 030106 microbiology Chaetomium Microbiology 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Ascomycota HEPA Nasopharynx Amphotericin B Environmental Microbiology medicine Humans Colonization 030212 general & internal medicine Bone Marrow Transplantation Immunosuppression Therapy Special care unit biology business.industry Patient Isolators Immunosuppression biology.organism_classification Ventilation Surgery Increased risk Infectious Diseases Female business Filtration medicine.drug |
| Zdroj: | Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. 9:451-456 |
| ISSN: | 1559-6834 0899-823X |
| DOI: | 10.2307/30145161 |
| Popis: | Four bone marrow transplant recipients consecutively occupying the same room on our Oncology-Hematology Special Care Unit (OHSCU) became colonized with Chaetomium species between January and April, 1987. These patients, aged 27 to 43 years, were immunocompromised as a result of intensive chemotherapy, and were consequently at increased risk for development of invasive fungal infection. At the time of Chaetomium colonization, all patients were febrile, two had transient new infiltrates on chest x-ray, and three were receiving amphotericin B therapy. Subsequent environmental cultures revealed Chaetomium contamination of the OHSCU air-handling system, including the HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters in seven of the nine rooms comprising the unit. Because fungal colonization of HEPA filters used to create a “protective environment” for immunocompromised patients can occur and can serve as a source for patient infections, guidelines concerning proper surveillance of these HEPA filters should be established. We suggest that before a new patient enters a “protected” room, the clean side of the HEPA filter should be cultured. If fungi are recovered from that culture, we would recommend changing the filter. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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