title: Levels of total fungus and Aspergillus on a pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplant unit.
abstract: The purpose of this descriptive study was to determine the levels of total fungus (TF) and Aspergillus in a pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) unit. One hundred twenty air samples and 120 floor samples were collected from the same locations in 10 patient rooms and bathrooms for 4 consecutive days. The count in colony-forming units of TF and Aspergillus from each of the samples was measured by the institution's mycology laboratory. Means, standard deviations, minimum values, and maximum values were determined for levels of TF and Aspergillus from different locations and on different days in the air and on the floor. Determination of a mean value of TF and Aspergillus for each room allowed for analysis of mean values of TF and Aspergillus for sample category, room side, room type, and room status. After visual examination of the mean values for the air samples collected, it was determined that the TF and Aspergillus in the air were less than the institution's acceptable air baseline standard. t tests and analysis of variance were used to verify the findings.
authors.affiliation: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee 38105, USA. mary.hensley@stjude.org
authors.forename: Mary Elizabeth
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Hensley
authors.forename: Weiming
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ke
authors.forename: Randall T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Hayden
authors.forename: Rupert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Handgretinger
authors.forename: Jonathan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: McCullers
mesh_terms: D000391:Air Microbiology; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor; D001230:Aspergillus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004496:Education, Continuing; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D016469:Fungemia / Q000451:nursing / Q000517:prevention & control; D005658:Fungi / Q000302:isolation & purification; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000451:nursing / Q000628:therapy; D006757:Hospital Units; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009859:Oncology Nursing; D010372:Pediatrics; D011336:Probability; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012494:Sampling Studies; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation