A pseudoepidemic of Sporothrix cyanescens pneumonia occurring during renovation of a bronchoscopy suite

Sporothrix cyanescens, an uncommonly isolated mold, was cultured from biopsy tissue, bronchial washings and sputum obtained at bronchoscopy fr mfour patients during a one-month period. These patients had undergone fiberoptic bronchoscopy to aid in the diagn sis of pneumonic infiltrates. During this period of time the broncboscopy suite was being extensively renovated. Cultures of bronchoscopes, biopsy forceps and effluents from the bronchoscopy injection ports were negative for fungi, as were all environmental s mples taken from the bronchoscopy suite. Known pulmonary pathogens were eventually isolated from two of the patients and the pneumonias resolved in all four patients. It is believed that bronchos-copy material was contaminated by dust created during modernization of the br choscopy suite and that the four isolates represent a unique pseudoepidemic of S. cyanescens pneumonia. Nosocomial fungal infections acquired during construction activities at medical facilities have been well documented and Aspergillus species are the most common causative fungi when this occurs [3]. The repeated isolation of an uncommon, presumably saprophytic mold in bronchoscopy specimens obtained uring renovation of the bronchoscopy suite in our hospital 'led to an extensive investigation. Four patients admitted to the hospital with undiagnosed pneumonia underwent fiberoptic bronchoscopy and Sporothrix cyanescens was recovered from material obtained at each bronchoscopy. We report the epidemiological circumstances surrounding the recovery of this mold from patients ' bronchoscopy material and discuss the impor-tance of its isolation in the hospital setting