Abstract

CARRILLO-DOVER, Pedro; ALVAREZ-VEGA, Carolina; SALAS-CAMPOS, Ingrid  and  MORA-BRENES, Nury. Isolation of Candida spp. and other yeasts from Health Care Workers in Critical Care Units of the San Juan de Dios Hospital. Acta méd. costarric [online]. 2009, vol.51, n.3, pp.165-171. ISSN 0001-6002.

Justification and aim: Critically ill patients are more susceptible than the general population to opportunistic fungal infections. Health workers could be a potential infectious focus to these patients. Thus in this investigation we report the isolation of yeast from the hands and oral cavity in a group of 77 employees of the San Juan de Dios Hospital from Services where infecctionsdue to these fungi had previously been reported. Methods: Samples from oral cavity and both hands were taken from 77 individuals. Each sample was platted into Sabouraud´s dextrose agar and Mycosel agar. Each yeast isolate was analyzed for growth capacity at 37°C, cycloheximide resistance, germ tube formation, phospholipase and proteinase production. Further, in vitro susceptibility testing of each isolate to fluconazol was performed using a microdilution method. Results: A 72.7% yeast positivity was found in all samples taken. Candida parapsilosis was the most frequent isolate, followed by C. albicans and C. famata. The ward with the greatest positivity was Surgery 3 (83.3%), followed by Intensive Care Unit (71.4%) and Neonatology (58%). Conclusion: These findings suggest that strict aseptic handling of patients should be observed to avoid horizontal transmission of yeasts in these wards. Similar studies should be conduced in others hospitals.

Keywords : Candida; yeast; nosocomial infection; proteinases; phospholipases; horizontal transmission.

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