Secular trends of candidemia in a large tertiary-care hospital from 1988 to 2000:: Emergence of Candida parapsilosis

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the secular trends of candidemia in a large tertiary-care hospital to determine the overall incidence, as well as the incidence by ward and by species, and to detect the occurrence of outbreaks. DESIGN: Retrospective descriptive analysis. Secular trends were calculated using the Mantel-Haenszel test. SETTING: A large tertiary-care referral center in Spain with a pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) to which more than 500 children with congenital cardiac disease are admitted annually. PATIENTS: All patients with candidemia occurring from 1988 to 2000 were included. Cases were identified from laboratory records of blood cultures. RESULTS: There were 331 episodes of candidemia. The overall incidence of nosocomial candidemia was 0.6 episode per 1,000 admissions and remained stable throughout the study period (P = .925). The species most frequently isolated was Candida albicans, but the incidence of C. parapsilosis candidemia increased (P = .035). In the pediatric ICU, the incidence of C. parapsilosis was 5.6 episodes per 1,000 admissions and it was the predominant species. Outbreaks occurred occasionally in the pediatric ICU, suggesting nosocomial transmission. CONCLUSIONS: During this 13-year period, the incidence of candidemia remained stable in this hospital, but C. parapsilosis increased in frequency. Occasional outbreaks of candidernia suggested nosocomial transmission of Candida species.