Evaluation of disinfectants for elimination of fungal contamination of patient beds in a reference hospital in Piauí, Brazil

Abstract

This quantitative and qualitative study aimed to identify fungi isolated from patient beds at a reference hospital in Teresina, Piauí, Brazil, and evaluate the efficacy of 70 % ethanol and 1 % hypochlorite for removing the contamination. Thirty-eight beds were chosen at random and the collection was carried out in three situations: before and after disinfection with 70 % alcohol or hypochlorite 1 %. Each sample was inoculated onto Sabouraud dextrose agar containing chloramphenicol and incubated at room temperature to allow fungal growth. We identified 13 species belonging to the genera Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Alternaria, Rhizopus, Penicillium, and Candida. All of these species are pathogenic and can worsen the clinical condition of patients. The 1 % hypochlorite solution proved to be an efficient disinfectant against the fungi, but the same was not observed using 70 % ethanol. Based on these findings, we recommended that the use of 1 % hypochlorite during bed disinfection be added to the hospital biosafety protocol to reduce cross contamination and contribute to patient recovery.

Keywords: Alcohol; Beds; Cross infection; Disinfection; Fungal; Sodium hypochlorite.