title: Candidemia in a Brazilian tertiary care hospital: species distribution and antifungal susceptibility patterns.
abstract: Recent studies have shown differences in the epidemiology of invasive infections caused by Candida species worldwide. In the period comprising August 2002 to August 2003, we performed a study in Santa Casa Complexo Hospitalar, Brazil, to determine Candida species distribution associated with candidemia and their antifungal susceptibility profiles to amphotericin B, fluconazole and itraconazole. Antifungal susceptibility was tested according to the broth microdilution method described in the NCCLS (M27A-2 method). Only one sample from each patient was analyzed (the first isolate). Most of the episodes had been caused by species other than C. albicans (51.6%), including C. parapsilosis (25.8%), C. tropicalis (13.3%), C. glabrata (3.3%), C. krusei (1.7%), and others (7.5%). Dose-dependent susceptibility to itraconazole was observed in 14.2% of strains, and dose-dependent susceptibility to fluconazole was found in 1.6%. Antifungal resistance was not found, probably related to low use of fluconazole. Further epidemiological surveillance is needed.
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Department, Fundação Faculdade Federal de Ciências Médicas, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Graciela Ventura
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Antunes
authors.forename: Alessandro Comarú
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Pasqualotto
authors.forename: María Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.forename: Pedro Alves
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: d'Azevedo
authors.forename: Luiz Carlos
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Severo
mesh_terms: D000666:Amphotericin B / Q000494:pharmacology; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001938:Brazil; D002175:Candida / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects*; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000382:microbiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015725:Fluconazole / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D017964:Itraconazole / Q000494:pharmacology; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D017964:Itraconazole; D000666:Amphotericin B; D015725:Fluconazole