Air quality in a hospital environment

Macedo, J. I.; Kubota, Tetsu; Matsumoto, Leopoldo Sussumu; Giordani, A. T.; Takayanagui, Ângela Maria Magosso; Mendes, Ariel Antônio; Bertolini, Dennis Armando

doi:10.2495/safe130661

Cited by 4 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Gniadek et al (2010) reported that the number of fungi in the morning samples exceeded the number of fungi in the night samples with average counts that varied from 50 to 2370 CFU/m 3 . These findings resembled the finding of Macedo et al (2013), who also verified that fungi prevailed in the morning. They attributed this finding to daily cleaning, which occurred in that period and caused a greater number of particles suspended in the air.…”

Section: Environmental Factors Conditioning Air Contaminationsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Open Petri dishes were exposed to air for between 10 and 30 min at a height of 80 to 150 cm from the floor. However, most authors employed air vacuum devices such as Anderson single-step model (10-710), MAS 100 Iso MH Microbial Air Sampler (Merck Millipore, Germany), SAS SUPER 100 (Merck), and LWC (Kangjie Instrument Research Institute, Liaoyang, China) at a variable flow rate (28.3-100 L/min) to obtain the suspended particle concentration (Martins-Diniz et al, 2005;Krajewska-Kułak et al, 2007;Chuaybamroong et al, 2008;Quadros et al, 2009;Ortiz et al, 2009;Qudiesat et al, 2009;Gniadek et al, 2010;Kim et al, 2010;Boff et al, 2013;Macedo et al, 2013;Park et al, 2013;Hoseinzadeh et al, 2013;El-Sharkawy & Noweir, 2014;Maldonado-Vega et al, 2014;Yu et al, 2015;Gniadek et al, 2017;Abbasi & Samaei, 2019). In some studies, material from inanimate surfaces (keyboards, phones, stethoscope, beds, door handles, walls, and equipment) was also collected by means of swabs or imprints (Martins-Diniz et al, 2005;Krajewska-Kułak et al, 2007;Melo et al, 2009;Qudiesat et al, 2009;Sales et al, 2011;Aboul-Nasr et al, 2014).…”

Section: Collection and Cultivation Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sabouraud dextrose agar added with the antibiotic chloramphenicol was used to culture the fungi (Martins-Diniz et al, 2005;Mobin & Salmito, 2006;Chuaybamroong et al, 2008;Melo et al, 2009;Quadros et al, 2009;Qudiesat et al, 2009;Awosika et al, 2012;Pantoja et al, 2012;Boff et al, 2013;Maldonado-Vega et al, 2014;Yu et al, 2012;Gonçalves et al, 2018;Calumby et al, 2019). Authors as Okten and Asan (2012), Ortiz et al (2009), and Maldonado-Vega et al (2014) employed Bengal pink agar for primary isolation, while Macedo et al (2013) used potato dextrose agar. To cultivate Penicillium and Aspergillus, Souza et al (2019) employed three variations of the Czapek medium (with glucose, with glucose at pH 8.5, and with cellulose), whereas Kim et al (2010) used malt extract agar.…”

Section: Collection and Cultivation Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some studies have addressed how seasonality influences the number of fungal spores in suspension or the prevailing fungal genera/species (Martins-Diniz et al, 2005;Quadros et al, 2009;Gniadek et al, 2010;Sales et al, 2011;Macedo et al, 2013;Park et al, 2013). In this context, Sales et al (2011) pointed out that winter was the season when they isolated the largest number of fungi, whereas Boff et al (2013) reported a significantly higher fungal concentration in autumn as compared to summer and spring (P \ 0.001 and P = 0.004, respectively).…”

Section: Environmental Factors Conditioning Air Contaminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, Qudiesat et al (2009), Macedo et al (2013), El-Sharkawy and Noweir (2014), and Souza et al (2019 pointed out that, among all the factors, human presence significantly contributed to the fungal diversity observed in the indoor air of hospitals. In the particular case of the NICU, the presence of the mothers and clinical staff contributes to this increase (Macedo et al, 2013).…”

Section: Environmental Factors Conditioning Air Contaminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fungi in the indoor air of critical hospital areas: a review

2021

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Invasive fungal infection is an important cause of mortality and morbidity in neonates, especially in low-birthweight neonates. The contribution of fungi in the indoor air to the incidence of mucocutaneous colonization and to the risk of invasive fungal infection in this population is uncertain. This review aimed to identify and to summarize the best available evidence on the fungal contamination in the indoor air of critical hospital areas with an emphasis on pediatric/neonatal ICUs. Publications from 2005 to 2019 were searched in the databases Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), US

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Section: Environmental Factors Conditioning Air Contaminationsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Collection and Cultivation Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Collection and Cultivation Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Environmental Factors Conditioning Air Contaminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Environmental Factors Conditioning Air Contaminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fungi in the indoor air of critical hospital areas: a review

2021

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Indoor air in healing environments

Gola

Settimo

Capolongo

2019

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Purpose Several countries have carried out air quality monitoring in professional workplaces where chemicals are used. Health-care spaces have been less investigated. This paper aims to define a protocol, as developed by a research group, for inpatient rooms to understand the state of the art and to suggest design and management strategies for improving process quality. Design/methodology/approach Starting from the ISO-16000 standard and guidelines for monitoring activities, a protocol is defined for a one year investigation, with passive samplers. Through data analysis of the investigations and analysis of the cleaning and finishing products, heating, ventilation and air conditioning and maintenance activities, etc., it is possible to highlight the potential influences of chemical pollution. Findings A methodology is defined for understanding the chemical pollution and the possible factors related to construction materials, cleaning products and maintenance activities. Research limitations/implications The paper analyzes only a limited number of case studies because the monitoring activity is still in progress. Practical implications The investigation offers a starting point for a wide tool for the definition of design, maintenance and management strategies in health-care facilities. Social implications The research project, aimed at improving the knowledge of indoor air quality (IAQ) in inpatient rooms, is a starting point for a supporting tool for future regulations concerning health-care facilities. Originality/value IAQ is an issue on which many governments are focusing. Several health-care researchers have reported studies that aim at improving users’ health. Most investigations are about biological and physical risks, but chemical risks have been less studied. The paper suggests some design and management strategies for inpatient room.

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The Indoor Climate of Hospitals in Tropical Countries: A Systematic Review

et al. 2023

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An indoor climate impacts human comfort, well-being, and safety. Therefore, it remains an important topic since, nowadays, people spend a significant amount of time indoors. Additionally, as tropical geographical zones become more populated, urbanised, and industrialised, the energy demand for air conditioning will rise significantly. In terms of the indoor climate, hospitals are particularly demanding due to the special needs of their occupants, however there is a paucity of studies about the tropics. Through a systematic analysis of accessible data and peer-reviewed articles, this study performed a quantitative and qualitative review of the scientific studies selected by the defined inclusion and exclusion parameters. A total of 65 tropics-related scientific publications, 28 on indoor thermal comfort and 37 on indoor air quality published between 2000 and 2023, were systematically reviewed. This study’s findings corroborated those from the previous studies, alluding that there is a paucity of scientific studies on the indoor climate conditions of buildings in tropical countries. A total of 42 studies (65%) were conducted in Asia and 15 studies (23%) in Africa. Six studies (9%) were reported in South America and two studies (3%) were obtained from Oceania, Australia. The results indicated that tropical Africa recorded the lowest number of indoor climate studies considering the population indices. Many of the reviewed indoor climate studies employed mixed methods, whereas only very few considered a seasonal approach. Meanwhile, in the developing tropics, only one record was found regarding an indoor climate study of hospitals based on their locations (correlating the outdoor and indoor air quality). Additionally, no record was found regarding the IC studies of hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa, in which, the IC impact on the occupant’s performance, productivity, and behaviour was assessed. Inferably, gaps still exist in the indoor climate of tropical hospitals. The current study highlights the need to improve the indoor climate considerations in the design, siting, awareness, regulations, and policy implementations concerning the hospitals in developing tropical countries. In conclusion, the study emphasises the need for more scientific studies on the indoor climate of tropical hospitals and highlights the relevant areas of the indoor climate studies in future works for considering the climate, environmental, socio-economic, infrastructural, and demographic peculiarities of the tropics for the betterment of hospital indoor climates in developing tropical countries.

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Air quality in a hospital environment

Cited by 4 publications

References 11 publications

Fungi in the indoor air of critical hospital areas: a review

Fungi in the indoor air of critical hospital areas: a review

Indoor air in healing environments

The Indoor Climate of Hospitals in Tropical Countries: A Systematic Review

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