There is increasing evidence that the hospital surface environment contributes to the spread of pathogens. However, evidence on how best to sample these surfaces is inconsistent and there is no guidance or legislation in place on how to do this. The aim of this review was to assess current literature on surface sampling methodologies, including the devices used, processing methods, and the environmental and biological factors that might influence results. Studies published prior to March 2019 were selected using relevant keywords from ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and PubMed. Abstracts were reviewed and all data-based studies in peer-reviewed journals in the English language were included. Microbiological air and water sampling in the hospital environment were not included. Although the numbers of cells or virions recovered from hospital surface environments were generally low, the majority of surfaces sampled were microbiologically contaminated. Of the organisms detected, multidrug-resistant organisms and clinically significant pathogens were frequently isolated and could, therefore, present a risk to vulnerable patients. Great variation was found between methods and the available data were incomplete and incomparable. Available literature on sampling methods demonstrated deficits with potential improvements for future research. Many of the studies included in the review were laboratory-based and not undertaken in the real hospital environment where sampling recoveries could be affected by the many variables present in a clinical environment. It was therefore difficult to draw overall conclusions; however, some recommendations for the design of routine protocols for surface sampling of healthcare environments can be made.

越来越多的证据表明医院的表面环境有助于病原体的传播。但是，关于如何最好地对这些表面进行采样的证据并不一致，并且尚无有关如何进行此操作的指导或立法。这篇综述的目的是评估有关表面采样方法的最新文献，包括使用的设备，处理方法以及可能影响结果的环境和生物学因素。使用ScienceDirect，Web of Science和PubMed的相关关键字选择了2019年3月之前发表的研究。对摘要进行了审查，并包括了英语同行评审期刊中所有基于数据的研究。不包括医院环境中的微生物空气和水采样。尽管从医院表面环境中回收的细胞或病毒体的数量通常很少，但采样的大部分表面都受到了微生物污染。在检测到的生物中，多药耐药生物和具有临床意义的病原体经常被分离出来，因此可能给脆弱的患者带来风险。方法之间存在很大差异，可用数据不完整且不可比。有关采样方法的现有文献表明存在缺陷，可能会为将来的研究带来改进。评价中包括的许多研究都是基于实验室的研究，而不是在实际的医院环境中进行的，在实际的医院环境中，临床环境中存在的许多变量会影响样品的回收率。因此，很难得出总体结论；然而，