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Airborne Fungal Spore Monitoring in a Protective Environment During Hospital Construction, and Correlation with an Outbreak of Invasive Aspergillosis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Peter C. Iwen ,
J. Calvin Davis ,
Elizabeth C. Reed ,
Barbara A. Winfield  and
Steven H. Hinrichs
Peter C. Iwen*
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
J. Calvin Davis
Affiliation:
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
Elizabeth C. Reed
Affiliation:
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
Barbara A. Winfield
Affiliation:
Department of Infection Control, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
Steven H. Hinrichs
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
*
Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 600 South 42nd St., Omaha, NE 68198-6495
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Abstract

Objectives:

Evaluate aerobiological monitoring for fungal spores during hospital construction and correlate results with an outbreak of invasive aspergillosis (IA).

Design:

Prospective air sampling for molds was done using the gravity air-settling plate (GASP) method.

Setting:

A university medical center special care unit consisting of single-patient rooms with high-efficiency particulate air filtration under positive pressure.

Patients:

Five neutropenic patients who subsequently developed IA.

Result:

Four of the five patients with IA were housed in rooms adjacent to a construction staging area. Aerobiological monitoring detected an increase in the number of airborne fungal spores including Aspergillus species in these rooms; however, increased counts preceded IA diagnosis by 1 to 7 days in only three of the five patients. Swab cultures of the exhaust vents within each room confirmed results from air-settling plates. Follow-up monitoring, using the GASP method, demonstrated that control procedures were effective in reducing air mold contamination.

Conclusion:

The GASP method, although able to demonstrate that infection control measures reduced mold contamination of the air, was insensitive to detect levels of mold contaminates in time to prevent IA.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 15 , Issue 5 , May 1994 , pp. 303 - 306
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1994

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