Epidemiology and susceptibility to antifungal agents of fungi isolated from clinical specimens from patients hospitalized in the Department of General and Liver Surgery of the Medical University of Warsaw.
The aim of this study was to analyze the type and antibiotic susceptibility of fungi isolated from clinical specimens obtained from patients hospitalized in the Department of General, Transplantation and Liver Surgery of the Medical University of Warsaw between 2000 to 2002. Among the 326 clinical samples found to be positive on mycological culture, 356 strains were cultured. The most common isolates were yeastlike fungi of the genus Candida 334 (93.8%), while others included 33 other types (6.2%). The most commonly isolated species were Candida albicans, 194 strains (54.5%); Candida glabrata, 68 (19.1%); Candida krusei, 20 (5.6%); Candida inconspicua, 20 (5.6%); Candida tropicalis, 17 (4.8%); and Candida parapsilosis, 6 (1.7%). Upon testing for susceptibility to antifungal agents, all strains were susceptible to amphotericin B, while 43.8% of strains showed intermediate susceptibility to fluconazole and 25.3%, to itraconazole. Control of fungal infections in transplant and in immunocompromised patients is hindered by the low percentage of strains susceptible to commonly used antifungal agents, particularly of the triazole group.
Swoboda-Kopec
E
E
Microbiological Laboratory, Central Clinical Hospital, Warsaw, Poland.
Kawecki
D
D
Wroblewska
M
M
Krawczyk
M
M
Luczak
M
M
D002175:Candida / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D041221:Candida glabrata / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006785:Hospitals, University; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D011044:Poland; D012189:Retrospective Studies