Assessment of preemptive treatment to prevent severe candidiasis in critically ill surgical patients.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the efficacy of a preemptive antifungal therapy in preventing proven candidiasis in critically ill surgical patients.


METHODS
Before/after intervention study, with 2-yr prospective and 2-yr historical control cohorts.


METHODS
Surgical intensive care unit (SICU) in a university-affiliated hospital.


METHODS
Nine hundred and thirty-three patients, 478 in the prospective group and 455 in the control group, with SICU stay > or =5 days.


METHODS
During the prospective period, systematic mycological screening was performed on all patients admitted to the SICU, immediately at admittance and then weekly until discharge. A corrected colonization index was used to assess intensity of Candida mucosal colonization. Patients with corrected colonization index > or =0.4 received early preemptive antifungal therapy (fluconazole intravenously: loading dose 800 mg, then 400 mg/day for 2 wks).


RESULTS
End points of this study were the frequency of proven candidiasis, especially SICU-acquired candidiasis. During the retrospective period, 32 patients of 455 (7%) presented with proven candidiasis: 22 (4.8%) were imported and 10 (2.2%) were SICU-acquired cases. During the prospective period, 96 patients with corrected colonization index > or =0.4 of 478 received preemptive antifungal treatment and only 18 cases (3.8%) of proven candidiasis were diagnosed; all were imported infections. Candida infections occurred more frequently in the control cohort (7% vs. 3.8%; p = .03). Incidence of SICU-acquired proven candidiasis significantly decreased from 2.2% to 0% (p < .001, Fisher test). Incidence of proven imported candidiasis remained unchanged (4.8% vs. 3.8%; p = .42). No emergence of azole-resistant Candida species (especially Candida glabrata, Candida krusei) was noted during the prospective period.


CONCLUSIONS
Targeted preemptive strategy may efficiently prevent acquisition of proven candidiasis in SICU patients. Further studies are being performed to assess cost-effectiveness of this strategy and its impact on selection of azole-resistant Candida strains on a long-term basis.
Piarroux
Renaud
R
Department of Parasitology-Mycology, University Hospital, Besançon, France.
Grenouillet
Frédéric
F
Balvay
Patrick
P
Tran
Véronique
V
Blasco
Gilles
G
Millon
Laurence
L
Boillot
Annie
A
D018806:APACHE; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D015725:Fluconazole / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D016469:Fungemia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D011336:Probability; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016019:Survival Analysis
D015725:Fluconazole