An outbreak of Pichia anomala fungemia in a Brazilian pediatric intensive care unit.
OBJECTIVE
To report an outbreak of Pichia anomala fungemia that occurred in a Brazilian pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) from October 2002 to January 2004.


METHODS
Unmatched case-control study.


METHODS
We randomly selected four control-patients for each case-patient from a list of all patients admitted to the ICU for at least 48 hours during the outbreak. A second control group was composed of all consecutive patients with nosocomial candidemia in the ICU during the outbreak. An environmental study was performed, and genetic relatedness among the clinical isolates was characterized by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA assay.


RESULTS
During the study period, 1,046 children were admitted to the pediatric ICU, 17 of whom developed P. anomala fungemia (attack rate, 1.6%). The median age was 1.1 years, and the main underlying conditions were congenital malformations (35.3%) and neoplastic diseases (11.8%). The overall mortality rate was 41.2%. Two patients received no antifungal treatment; all of the others were treated with amphotericin B. On multivariate analysis, only the presence of a central venous catheter was significantly associated with P. anomala fungemia. The yeast was not found on healthcare workers' hands or in the environment. Molecular studies showed that the outbreak was caused by a single strain. The distribution of risk factors was similar between patients with P. anomala fungemia and control-patients with candidemia.


CONCLUSIONS
This study highlights the importance of P. anomala as an emerging nosocomial fungal pathogen. Patients with P. anomala fungemia seem to have risk factors in common with those who have candidemia.
Pasqualotto
Alessandro Comarú
AC
School of Medicine, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom. alessandro.pasqualotto@manchester.ac.uk
Sukiennik
Teresa Cristina Teixeira
TC
Severo
Luiz Carlos
LC
de Amorim
Cledja Soares
CS
Colombo
Arnaldo Lopes
AL
D017677:Age Distribution; D000666:Amphotericin B / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002405:Catheterization, Central Venous / Q000009:adverse effects; D021821:Communicable Diseases, Emerging / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D016469:Fungemia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D015278:Intensive Care Units, Pediatric; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010843:Pichia / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D019105:Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique; D012307:Risk Factors; D012621:Seasons
D000935:Antifungal Agents; D004271:DNA, Fungal; D000666:Amphotericin B