Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Environ Monit Assess. 2021 Mar 1;193(3):152. doi: 10.1007/s10661-021-08908-3.
Microbiological monitoring of air and surfaces is a valuable tool for assessing the level of environmental contamination by bacteria and fungi in hospitals, especially in high-risk wards. The presence of these microorganisms requires strict control in view of their role as opportunistic pathogens. As regard yeasts, Candida albicans is one of the main opportunistic pathogens. However, in recent years, many other "non-Albicans" species have been identified that are implicated in the onset of both localised infections in immunocompetent patients and systemic infections in immunocompromised patients. The aim of the work was to evaluate the frequency of isolation of Rhodotorula spp. in environmental samples of hospital origin in order to highlight how its presence may represent an increased risk for hospitalised patients. The samples were taken in at-risk wards, divided into six types of environments, in three hospitals in southern Sardinia between 2016 and 2019. The presence of moulds and yeasts was higher in the air (55.7%) than on surfaces (44.3%) in the hospital environments (p < 0.001). Similarly, the isolation frequency of Rhodotorula spp. was found to be greater (p < 0.001) in the air (14.2%) than on surfaces (9.2%). This study made it possible to evaluate the presence of pathogenic fungi in hospital environments, paying particular attention to Rhodotorula spp. since it is an emerging opportunistic yeast. It also highlights the importance of control measures especially in those where immunocompromised patients are present.
空气和表面的微生物监测是评估医院细菌和真菌环境污染水平的一种有价值的工具，尤其是在高风险病房中。鉴于这些微生物作为机会性病原体的作用，它们的存在需要严格控制。就酵母而言，白色念珠菌是主要的机会性病原体之一。然而，近年来，许多其他“非白色念珠菌”物种被鉴定出来，它们与免疫功能正常患者的局部感染和免疫功能低下患者的全身感染有关。本研究的目的是评估医院来源环境样本中罗地托氏菌属的分离频率，以强调其存在可能对住院患者构成更高的风险。这些样本是在 2016 年至 2019 年间，在撒丁岛南部的三家医院的高危病房中，从六种不同环境类型中采集的。医院环境中的空气（55.7%）中霉菌和酵母的存在率高于表面（44.3%）（p<0.001）。同样，罗地托氏菌属的分离频率也发现空气（14.2%）高于表面（9.2%）（p<0.001）。本研究评估了医院环境中致病真菌的存在情况，特别关注罗地托氏菌属，因为它是一种新兴的机会性酵母。它还强调了控制措施的重要性，尤其是在存在免疫功能低下患者的情况下。
