FCT_UIDB/05608/2020. FCT_UIDP/05608/2020.In Healthcare environments fungal presence depends on the medical activities performed, number and types of patients, cleaning frequency and procedures, and the type of ventilation systems. The aim of this review article was to identify different methodologies applied to assess fungal contamination in Healthcare environments, as well as to describe the most reported fungi in these environments. This study was based on a systematic search for information and data that have been published in free access sources during the period of 1st January 2000 to 31st December 2020. PRISMA methodology was applied to identify and select studies referring to Healthcare environments where the fungal assessment was performed. The most common Healthcare environments assessed were hospitals (26 out of 56) and the most used sampling methods were active (27 articles). Passive methods were exclusively used in 8 papers, and the combined use of both methods was verified in 21 papers. Concerning analytical procedures, the exclusive use of morphological identification was the most frequent approach (40 out of 56). Aspergillus sp., Cladosporium sp., and Penicillium sp. were the predominant genera found indoors (24 out of 56). There is scientific evidence of fungal contamination present in Healthcare environments. Thus, in order to have an accurate and reliable risk characterization, the combined use of active and passive sampling methods and the use of culture based-methods and molecular tools are of upmost importance.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
