Identificación de agentes micóticos (aspergillus spp. y candida spp.) en equipos respiratorios de uso veterinario

Abstract

The aim of this research was to identify the presence of Aspergillus spp. and Candida spp. and their relationship with the different components of respiratory equipment and the surrounding environment in order to establish the potential risk of contamination. To this end, sterile swabs were taken from both proximal and distal parts of the respiratory equipment before and after contact with the patient. This process was carried out with 4 replicates, obtaining a total of 160 samples. These were processed in the Microbiology Laboratory of the Centre for Research, Innovation and Technology Transfer (CIITT) of the Catholic University of Cuenca. The results obtained confirmed the presence of nosocomial fungi Aspergillus and Candida as well as other pathogenic microorganisms. At the time of sampling, no associativity was observed, but an influence on location was observed, especially in the case of Aspergillus spp, which showed positive associativity with the proximal surface. Furthermore, significant associations (p<0.05) were identified between Aspergillus spp. and various respiratory equipment, unlike Candida spp. which was present without statistical associations (p>0.05). Also, a significant risk was found to be present in the environment, anesthesia delivery tubes, mechanical ventilation tubes and endotracheal tubes. These findings provide crucial information for the implementation of preventive measures and cleaning protocols, thus mitigating the risk of contamination.