Molecular typing of Candida isolates from patients hospitalized in an intensive care unit.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of our study was the molecular typing of 40 clinical isolates of Candida spp. obtained from patients with burns or trauma hospitalized in the intensive care unit of a general hospital.


METHODS
Isolates were recovered from blood, deep trauma, urine, sputum or from environment within a short period of time (4 months). The yeasts were identified using commercial yeast identification kits as C. albicans (17 isolates), C. tropicalis (16 isolates) and C. parapsilosis (10 isolates). The epidemiological relation of the isolates was tested with the Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA assay using three or four arbitrary chosen primers.


RESULTS
All C. albicans isolates presented distinct RAPD profiles, C. tropicalis isolates presented both the same and distinct RAPD patterns and the C. parapsilosis isolates presented the same RAPD pattern. All the environmental isolates were identified as C. parapsilosis and they had the same RAPD pattern as C. parapsilosis clinical isolates. Candida parapsilosis delineation was confirmed with PFGE.


CONCLUSIONS
The colonization/infection with C. albicans was endogenous, the C. tropicalis colonization/infection was both endogenous and exogenous, and the C. parapsilosis colonization/infection had an environmental origin.
Vrioni
G
G
Laboratoire de Microbiologie, Hôpital Raymond Poincaré, 92380 Garches, France.
Matsiota-Bernard
P
P
D002056:Burns / Q000382:microbiology*; D002175:Candida / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000032:analysis; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D016469:Fungemia / Q000382:microbiology; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D016533:Mycological Typing Techniques; D019105:Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000382:microbiology*
D004271:DNA, Fungal