Assessment of microbiological air quality in hemato-oncology units and its relationship with the occurrence of invasive fungal infections: an integrative review

Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical

Ferreira, Lecio Rodrigues¹  Silva, Magda Fabbri Isaac¹  Menegueti, Mayra Goncalves¹  Silva, Anderson Soares da¹  Universidade de Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto, Brazil¹  Bellissimo-Rodrigues, Fernando¹ 

关键词: Airborne fungal infections;    Invasive aspergillosis;    High-efficiency particulate air filter;    Hematology;    Bone marrow transplantation;   

DOI  :  10.1590/0037-8682-0022-2013

学科分类：农业科学（综合）

来源: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical

【 摘 要 】

Worldwide aging of the human population has promoted an increase in the incidence ofneoplasia, including hematological cancers, which render patients particularly vulnerable toinvasive fungal infections. For this reason, air filtration in hemato-oncology units has beenrecommended. However, scarce literature has assessed the impact of microbiological air quality onthe occurrence of fungal infections in this population. We performed an integrative review ofstudies in the MEDLINE database that were published between January 1980 and October 2012, using thefollowing combinations of keywords: air × quality × HEPA, air × quality ×hematology, and airborne fungal infections. The search yielded only 13 articles, suggesting thathigh-efficiency filtering of the ambient air in hemato-oncology units can prevent the incidence ofinvasive fungal infections. However, no randomized clinical trial was found to confirm thissuggestion. Currently, there is no consensus about the maximum allowable count of fungi in the air,which complicates filtration monitoring, including filter maintenance and replacement, and needs tobe addressed in future studies.Key words: Airborne fungal infections; Invasive aspergillosis; High-efficiency particulate air filter; Hematology; Bone marrow transplantation

【 授权许可】

Unknown