Surveillance study of air conditioning units in operation theatres of a tertiary care hospital, Pune.

S. Kamble; A. Chandanwale; S.Pol; A. Kagal; R. Bharadwaj

Volume : VII, Issue : IX, September - 2017

Surveillance study of air conditioning units in operation theatres of a tertiary care hospital, Pune.

S. Kamble, A. Chandanwale, S. Pol, A. Kagal, R. Bharadwaj

Abstract :

Background:Badly maintained air conditioners act as a source of Hospital infection. One of the important causes of post–operative fungal infections is discharge of spores from contaminated air conditioning (AC) units. The filters and/or vents of such units may act as a nidus for the growth of fungi. To formulate and initiate the control measures, an active surveillance of AC units in various operation theatres was carried out in Sassoon General hospital, Pune.

Materials and Method: Over a period of three months, ten operation theater AC units were screened for the fungal isolation by fungal culture and identification by macroscopic and microscopic examination.

Result: The overall fungal isolation rate of AC vent was 95 %. Aspergillus spp. was the commonest one followed by Mucor, Rhizopus and Penicillium.

Conclusion: The result of this surveillance study was used to educate the hospital about the need for routine cleaning of vents of AC units, so as to reduce the proliferation and dispersion of pathogenic fungi.