Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34322633›Full record

ArticleJournal of preventive medicine and hygiene2021

Fungal carriage on healthcare workers' hands, clothing, stethoscopes and electronic devices during routine patient care: a study from a tertiary care center.

Vishakh C Keri, Arvind Kumar, Gagandeep Singh, Immaculata Xess, Maroof Ahmad Khan, Neha Rastogi, Monalisa Sahu, Naveet Wig

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of preventive medicine and hygiene, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.0field-weighted citation impact, top 56% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Vishakh C KeriDepartment of Medicine and Microbiology AIIMS, New Delhi.
Arvind KumarDepartment of Medicine, AIIMS, New Delhi.
Gagandeep SinghDepartment of Microbiology AIIMS, New Delhi.
Immaculata XessDepartment of Microbiology AIIMS, New Delhi.
Maroof Ahmad KhanDepartment of Biostatistics, AIIMS, New Delhi.
Neha RastogiDepartment of Medicine and Microbiology AIIMS, New Delhi.
Monalisa SahuDepartment of Medicine and Microbiology AIIMS, New Delhi.
Naveet WigDepartment of Medicine, AIIMS, New Delhi.
All India Institute of Medical Sciences Raipur · INAll India Institute of Medical Sciences Bhopal · INNational Institute of Medical Statistics · IN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundInvasive fungal infections are a constant threat to immunocompromised and critically ill patients. Healthcare workers caring for such patients act as conduits of transmission through their contaminated hands and belongings causing nosocomial infections. Although bacterial contamination of healthcare workers is known, our knowledge about fungal carriage is sparse. Among the fungi, candida species colonization of hands of healthcare workers is known however it would be interesting to know the type of fungal carriage on their inanimate belongings.

aimTo study the prevalence and type of fungal carriage on healthcare workers hands, aprons/hospital scrubs, electronic devices, and stethoscopes.

methodsHealthcare workers working in Medicine ward and ICU during November and December 2019 were sampled. Hand washes were collected in Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) broth with gentamycin. Direct impression smears on blood agar were taken from aprons/hospital scrubs. Electronic devices and stethoscopes were sampled using moist cotton swabs. Subculture and plating was done on Sabarouds Dextrose Agar (SDA). Yeasts were identified using Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionisation Time of Flight (MALDI TOF) and moulds were identified using microscopy.

findingsOut of 60 health care workers, 20 (33.3%) had fungal carriage. Aprons/hospital scrubs and hands were contaminated in 17 (28.3%) and 3 (5%) respectively. Aprons/hospital scrubs mainly constituted moulds belonging to species of Aspergillus. Hands were contaminated with Candida tropicalis, Candida parapsilosis and Candida auris. Electronic devices and stethoscopes had no fungal contamination.

conclusionsActive fungal surveillance provides prevalent carriage rates and serve as a feedback to improve our disinfection and hand hygiene practices. It also aids in identification of potential source of hospital outbreaks.

Indexed as

ClothingElectronicsEquipment ContaminationStethoscopesCandidaFemaleFungiHandHealth PersonnelHumansMalePatient CareTertiary Care CentersCandida aurisElectronic devicesFungal surveillanceHandsHeath care workers

Identifiers

PMID34322633
PMCPMC8283634
OpenAlexW3158619404

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.