Antifungal susceptibility and distribution of Candida spp. isolates from the University Hospital in the municipality of Dourados, State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Adriana Araujo de Almeida, Cristiane Suemi Shinobu Mesquita, Terezinha Inez Estivalet Svidzinski, Kelly Mari Pires de Oliveira
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2013
• Subjects: Candida; Candiduria; Candidemia; Amphotericin B; Fluconazole; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0074-2012; https://doaj.org/article/7dd0d4cc6ac645e6b49e50daf5735eba

Introduction Hospital infections caused by Candida spp. are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients, particularly those that are critically ill or immunocompromised. In this study, the distribution of Candida species in isolates from the University Hospital of the Federal University at Grande Dourados and their in vitro susceptibility to antifungal drugs were analyzed. Methods Yeasts were phenotypically identified using classical methodologies. Antifungal susceptibility tests to amphotericin B and fluconazole were performed using the broth microdilution technique. Results A total of 50 Candida isolates were obtained from hospitalized patients during the study period. We analyzed yeast isolates from urine (n=31; 62%), blood (n=12; 24%), and tracheal secretions (n=7; 14%). The following Candida species were identified: C. tropicalis (n=21; 42%), C. albicans (n=18; 36%), C. glabrata (n=10; 20%), and C. krusei (n=1; 2%). Antifungal susceptibility tests demonstrated that C. albicans was susceptible to both antifungal agents. However, 31.2% of the non-C. albicans Candida isolates displayed dose-dependent susceptibility to fluconazole, and 3.1% were resistant to amphotericin B. Conclusions In contrast to previous reports, our results indicated that C. tropicalis was the most commonly isolated yeast species among the hospital patients. The predominance of non-C. albicans Candida infections confirms the importance of species-level identification for implementing appropriate antifungal therapies.