Assessment of microbiological air quality in hemato-oncology units and its relationship with the occurrence of invasive fungal infections: an integrative review

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical Vol. 46; no. 4; pp. 391 - 396
• Main Authors: Menegueti, Mayra Gonçalves, Ferreira, Lécio Rodrigues, Silva, Magda Fabbri Isaac, Silva, Anderson Soares da, Bellissimo-Rodrigues, Fernando
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Portuguese
• Published: Brazil Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical 01.07.2013; Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical - SBMT; Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT)
• Subjects: Air Filters; Air Microbiology; Airborne fungal infections; Aspergillosis - prevention & control; Aspergillus - isolation & purification; Bone marrow transplantation; Cross Infection - prevention & control; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Fungal infections; Hematologic Neoplasms; Hematology; High-efficiency particulate air filter; Hospital Units; Humans; Invasive aspergillosis; Microbiology; Oncology; TROPICAL MEDICINE; Bone marrow transplantation; Airborne fungal infections; Invasive aspergillosis; High-efficiency particulate air filter; Hematology
• ISSN: 0037-8682; 1678-9849; 1678-9849
• DOI: 10.1590/0037-8682-0022-2013

Worldwide aging of the human population has promoted an increase in the incidence of neoplasia, including hematological cancers, which render patients particularly vulnerable to invasive fungal infections. For this reason, air filtration in hematooncology units has been recommended. However, scarce literature has assessed the impact of microbiological air quality on the occurrence of fungal infections in this population. We performed an integrative review of studies in the MEDLINE database that were published between January 1980 and October 2012, using the following combinations of keywords: air × quality × HEPA, air × quality × hematology, and airborne fungal infections. The search yielded only 13 articles, suggesting that high-efficiency filtering of the ambient air in hemato-oncology units can prevent the incidence of invasive fungal infections. However, no randomized clinical trial was found to confirm this suggestion. Currently, there is no consensus about the maximum allowable count of fungi in the air, which complicates filtration monitoring, including filter maintenance and replacement, and needs to be addressed in future studies.