Resumo

The importance of nosocomial infections caused by fungi, especially by yeasts, has been highlighted in the international literature in relation to the overall incidence increase in recent years, especially in developing countries. Within this context, the genus Candida is the fungal etiologic agent of greater importance. This project aims to investigate which are the genera/species of yeasts most frequently found as contaminants in an Admission Unit of Hospital São Lucas/PUCRS (Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil), as well as their susceptibility profile to antifungal drugs. Twelve weekly collections were performed in twenty different locations and instruments from the 6th floor of the HSL/PUCRS, totaling 240 samples. Samples were collected with sterile swabs moistened in sterile saline solution and immediately cultivated in Sabouraud broth. From these cultures it was possible to isolate a total of 79 yeast strains. Among the different sampling sites the sphygmomanometers were those from which it is was possible to isolate the largest number of yeasts, followed by the food distribution car. It is also noteworthy that only from seven sampling sites it was not possible to isolate any yeast strain. At present biochemical identifications of isolates are being performed. To date it was possible to identify five isolates from different collections and sampling sites, three of them as C. parapsilosis and the other as C. albicans and C. tropicalis. Furthermore, susceptibility profile analyses of these isolates to antifungal drugs (Amphotericin B, Nistatine, Flucytosine, Econazole, Ketoconazol, Miconazole and Fluconazole) were performed. In these tests, all five isolates were resistant to at least two of the seven antifungal agents tested, and two of them were resistant to at least three of these drugs. The data collected so far indicate that pathogenic yeasts appear to be quite frequent in the investigated hospital environment and also, that they show an important resistance to antifungal drugs. These findings are probably due to the wide circulation of both patients and professionals at the Hospital Unit investigated, as well as the continuous and intensive use of materials that were submitted to collections. Apoio: CNPq