Prevalência de Staphylococcus em trabalhadores da saúde de um hospital de pequeno porte do interior de Minas Gerais

Abstract

Health institutions, especially hospitals, from the point of view of ecosystem interactions, are characterized by the territorial universe and the influence of activities carried out by health workers from the most diverse categories. In these places, the working environment can be considered unhealthy due to several factors related to working conditions and exposure to occupational risks, with biological risk being the most worrying. Studies demonstrate that hands are the main mean of transmission of microorganisms and, in healthcare environments, transmission through workers' hands is considered a standard, and has already been reported as sources of infection outbreaks. Staphylococcus is commonly found in this anatomical site. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of Staphylococcus in healthcare workers working in a small hospital in the interior of Minas Gerais. Samples were obtained from employees who provide services at the hospital unit (hands and coats/uniforms). The samples were cultured in indicative selective medium (hypertonic mannitol agar) and evaluated for colonial morphology and microscopic characteristics (shape, arrangement and reaction to staining by the Gram method). Samples suggestive of Staphylococcus were subjected to analysis by MALDI-TOF MS. Considering the data obtained from the identification of Staphylococcus, the comparative evaluation between the frequency of recovery of the bacteria from the hands and clothing of the individuals studied shows that the microorganism is more commonly recovered from the hands, when data from both moments (before and during work) are included (p < 0.0001) and the first (p < 0.0001) and second (p = 0.0055) collections separately. The evaluation by sampled site and time of collection indicates the recovery of Staphylococcus from the hands of 95.45% and 100% and from the clothing of 52.27% and 81.81% of employees, in the first and second collections, respectively. As in the evaluation considering the suggestive identification of Staphylococcus, the microorganism was more frequently observed in the second collection of clothing (p = 0.006). In conclusion, our findings indicate failures in adherence to standard biosafety precautionary measures for all categories of healthcare workers, contributing to the spread of potentially pathogenic microorganisms to patients, healthcare environments and, among workers themselves, in addition to the spread in community, which can have serious consequences for society.

Keywords: Staphylococcus, healthcare workers, MALDI-TOF.