title: Occurrence, presentation and treatment of candidemia.
abstract: Candida is one of the most common causes of nosocomial bloodstream infections. Candidemia is not confined to hematological patients, intensive care units or abdominal surgery wards, but it is remarkably frequent in the internal medicine setting. High mortality associated with candidemia can be reduced by prompt, appropriate antifungal therapy. The epidemiology of species has been shifting toward non-albicans strains. Significant improvements in nonculture-based diagnostic methods, such as serological markers, have been made in recent years, and novel diagnostic techniques should be further studied to enable early pre-emptive therapy. Treatment guidelines indicate that echinocandins are at present the best choice for patients who are severely ill or possibly infected with fluconazole-resistant strains.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Health Science, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mikulska
authors.forename: Valerio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Del Bono
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ratto
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Viscoli
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002175:Candida / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D058387:Candidemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D025141:Drug Resistance, Fungal; D054714:Echinocandins / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015725:Fluconazole / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D015995:Prevalence; D012698:Serologic Tests
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D054714:Echinocandins; D015725:Fluconazole