PRESENCE OF Rhodotorula IN HOSPITAL ENVIRONMENT: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract

Fungi of the genus Rhodotorula have the capacity to cause the development of infections, especially in immunosuppressed patients and can lead to death. This study aimed to make a systematic review of the Rhodotorula sp. in a hospital environment, focusing hands of health professionals, surfaces of objects present in hospitals and the air. The bibliographic survey was carried out in the databases Scielo, Lilacs, PubMed, Science Direct and Periodical Capes, of articles published between the years 2000 to 2017. In the literature review, 3164 publications were retrieved, of which 56 had their texts fully evaluated and only 7 were selected to compose the results. The prevalence of Rhodotorula sp. in the different studies ranged from 3.3% to 23.7%, where 1170 samples were contaminated by fungi, of which the genus Rhodotorula was found in 71 samples (6.1%), where 13% = 9) were detected on surfaces of objects and equipment, 14% (n = 10) were found in the hands of health professionals and 73% (n = 52) in the air. In this way, it is necessary that more strict measures of cleaning are adopted by the hospitals in order to diminish the presence of these microorganisms and to prevent the development of infections.