Species distribution and antifungal susceptibility among clinical isolates of Candida parapsilosis complex from India

Background: Candida parapsilosis is recognized as a species complex: Candida parapsilosis sensu stricto, Candida orthopsilosis and Candida metapsilosis are three distinct but closely related species. Aims: To determine the species and antifungal susceptibility of members of the C. parapsilosis complex, isolated from clinical samples. Methods: Isolates identified as C. parapsilosis complex by VITEK (R) 2 system were included. Antifungal susceptibility test was done using the VITEK (R) 2 semi-automated system. The distribution of the species in the complex was determined by multiplex PCR. Results: Among the seventy-seven C. parapsilosis complex isolates, C. parapsilosis sensu stricto (57.1%) was the commonest species, followed by C. orthopsilosis (40.2%) and C. metapsilosis (2.5%). All three species were susceptible to amphotericin B, caspofungin and micafungin. Among C. parapsilosis sensu stricto isolates, 16% were resistant to fluconazole while 2.2% showed dose dependent susceptibility. Also, 18.2% of C. parapsilosis sensu stricto isolates showed dose dependent susceptibility to voriconazole. Conclusions: C. parapsilosis sensu stricto was the most commonly isolated member of the C. parapsilosis complex and it showed high resistance to fluconazole. A high prevalence of C. orthopsilosis (40.2%) was also noted. (C) 2018 Asociacion Espanola de Micologia. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. All rights reserved.