Identificación de hongos filamentosos en áreas internas del hospital universitario ‟Antonio Patricio de Alcalá”, Venezuela

The presence and proliferation of fungi in the hospital environment can represent a risk factor for the health of patients and their families, since they can cause nosocomial infections. The objective of this study was to identify the different filamentous fungi present in the areas: adult emergency, pediatric emergency, Intensive Care Unit and operating room of the “Antonio Patricio de Alcalá” University Hospital in the city of Cumaná, Sucre state in Venezuela. The study was descriptive, cross-sectional and non-experimental. The count of the colony-forming units per plate of the filamentous fungi was performed in Petri dishes with potato dextrose agar, exposed in the spaces mentioned. Subsequently, the fungal colonies present were isolated and identified. Significant differences were observed in the counts obtained from the different studied sites (p 0.05). The fungal genera that were isolated in the highest proportion were: Aspergillus (36.3%), Penicillium (28.2%), Fusarium (12.7%) and Cladosporium (9.1%). The most frequently isolated species were: A. niger (14.2%), P. citrinum (12.7%), F. poae (12.7%) and C. herbarum (9.1%). The results obtained showed that several of the fungi identified in the present study should be considered as potential pathogens for patients and other people in the hospital. La presencia y proliferación de hongos en el ambiente hospitalario puede representar un factor de riesgo para la salud de los pacientes y sus familiares, ya que pueden provocar infecciones nosocomiales. El objetivo del presente estudio fue identificar los distintos hongos filamentosos presentes en las áreas: emergencia adulto, emergencia pediátrica, Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos y quirófano del Hospital Universitario “Antonio Patricio de Alcalá” en la ciudad de Cumaná del estado Sucre en Venezuela. El estudio fue de tipo descriptivo, transversal y no experimental. El recuento de las unidades formadoras de colonia por placa de los hongos filamentosos se realizó en placas de Petri con agar papa dextrosa, expuestas en los espacios mencionados. Posteriormente, las colonias fúngicas presentes fueron aisladas e identificadas. Se observaron diferencias significativas en los recuentos obtenidos de los distintos sitios estudiados (p