title: Clinical features and outcomes of Candidaemia in cancer patients: Results from Pakistan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate clinical risk factors and outcomes among cancer patients with candidaemia at a large cancer treatment centre.
  
  
  METHODS
  The retrospective study was conducted at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Lahore, Pakistan, and comprised data related to all cancer patients with a positive blood culture for candida species between January 1995 and December 2013.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 311 patients were identified and there were 16 positive candida cultures among every 1000 (1.6%) cultures positive for any microorganism. Patients with haematological malignancies (adjusted odds ratio:2.23), those in shock (adjusted odds ratio: 9.48) were significantly more likely to die during the index hospitalisation, while patients with candida albicans isolated from the blood culture (adjusted odds ratio: 0.47) and those who received antifungal agent based on the sensitivity report of the fungal culture (adjusted odds ratio:0.32) were significantly less likely to die. Receipt of antifungal agents on an empirical basis before a positive culture was not significantly associated with mortality (p>0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  No statistically significant risk factor for candidemia was identified, but haematological malignancies, shock and candidaemia due to non-albicans species were predictors of mortality during index hospitalisation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine,Bacha Khan Medical Complex, Swabi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Aun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Raza
authors.affiliation: Section of Clinical Research, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Waleed
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zafar
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Bacha Khan Medical Complex, Swabi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Amjad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mahboob
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Center, Lahore, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Summiya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nizammudin
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Rashid Latif Medical College, Lahore, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Naveed
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rashid
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Bacha Khan Medical Complex, Swabi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Faisal
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sultan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D058387:Candidemia / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D010154:Pakistan; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents
keywords: Cancer patients, Candidaemia, Pakistan.