A qualitative and quantitative study monitoring airborne fungal flora in the kidney transplant unit

Solid organ transplantation patients are at high risk for opportunistic air-borne fungal infections due to using the potent immunosuppressive agents.

The current study aimed to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate the fungal flora present in the air of Kidney transplant unit of Baqiyatallah hospital.

In this prospective study, air samples from patient room, baths site, ICU and isolated room, corridor site and outside the ward were obtained by settled plate technique using plates containing Sabouraud's dextrose agar medium. In the current study, 36 agar plates containing Sabouraud dextrose agar medium were used. The plates were exposed for 20 min at height of 100-150 cm above the ground in units of hospital. Immediately after collection, samples were incubated at 27 ± 2ºC for four weeks. The slide culture method and Lacto-phenol cotton blue were used for definitive identification and staining fungal cultures, respectively.

The mean of colony forming units (CFUs) on indoor and outdoor plates was 6.6 ± 1.3 and 6 ± 1.9 / plate respectively. Statistical analysis showed that the observed difference is not significant. Also, the results showed that the mean of CFUs in the air of patient's rooms (6.8 ± 1.7), halls (4.5 ± 1.7), bathrooms (6.8 ± 1.5), and ICU rooms (3.2 ± 1.8) were not significantly different. The mean of different fungal genera isolated from indoor and outdoor plates were 1.9 ± 0.2 and 4 ± 0.5 genera/plate respectively, that indicates significant difference between indoor and outdoor air quality (P < 0.001).

Lack of difference between quantity of outdoor and indoor air fungi indicates inefficiency of air control measures, and indoor lower genus diversity compared to outdoor air shows that there may be conditions that facilitate fungal growth in the environment of kidney transplantation unit.