title: A prospective survey of air and surface fungal contamination in a medical mycology laboratory at a tertiary care university hospital.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Invasive filamentous fungi infections resulting from inhalation of mold conidia pose a major threat in immunocompromised patients. The diagnosis is based on direct smears, cultural symptoms, and culturing fungi. Airborne conidia present in the laboratory environment may cause contamination of cultures, resulting in false-positive diagnosis. Baseline values of fungal contamination in a clinical mycology laboratory have not been determined to date.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 1-year prospective survey of air and surface contamination was conducted in a clinical mycology laboratory during a period when large construction projects were being conducted in the hospital. Air was sampled with a portable air system impactor, and surfaces were sampled with contact Sabouraud agar plates. The collected data allowed the elaboration of Shewhart graphic charts.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean fungal loads ranged from 2.27 to 4.36 colony forming units (cfu)/m(3) in air and from 0.61 to 1.69 cfu/plate on surfaces.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Strict control procedures may limit the level of fungal contamination in a clinical mycology laboratory even in the context of large construction projects at the hospital site. Our data and the resulting Shewhart graphic charts provide baseline values to use when monitoring for inappropriate variations of the fungal contamination in a mycology laboratory as part of a quality assurance program. This is critical to the appropriate management of the fungal risk in hematology, cancer and transplantation patients.
authors.affiliation: Parasitology-Mycology Laboratory, IFR Santé-STIC, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Bourgogne, Dijon, France. msautour@u-bourgogne.fr
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sautour
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dalle
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Olivieri
authors.forename: Coralie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: L'ollivier
authors.forename: Emilie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Enderlin
authors.forename: Elsa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Salome
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Chovelon
authors.forename: Odile
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Vagner
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sixt
authors.forename: Véronique
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fricker-Pap
authors.forename: Serge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aho
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Fontaneau
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cachia
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bonnin
mesh_terms: D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D005658:Fungi / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007755:Laboratories, Hospital; D009172:Mycology; D011446:Prospective Studies