EVALUATION OF EPIDEMIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS, RISK FACTORS AND ANTIFUNGAL SENSITIVITY OF CANDIDEMIA CASES IN A TERTIARY-CARE HOSPITAL

Introduction: Blood circulation infections due to Candida species have an increasing prevalence among nosocomial infections. These infections cause significant morbidity and mortality. In this study, it is aimed to evaluate the epidemiologic features, risk factors and antifungal susceptibility of candidemia cases in a tertiary-care hospital. Materials and methods: Between January 1, 2012 and March 1, 2016, the data of patients with candidemia were recorded in a previously prepared form in a tertiary-care hospital. In the same period, cases without candidemia were taken as control group. Candidemia cases and control group were compared in terms of epidemiological characteristics and possible risk factors. SPSS 16.0 program was used for statistical analysis. Results: The mean age of 60 patients diagnosed with candidemia was 57.3 +/- 18.3, 37 (61.7%) were males and 23 (38.3%) were females. The mean age of the 60 patients in the control group was 58.6 +/- 16.6, 35 (58.3%) were male and 25 (41.7%) were female. The most common isolated Candida species were C. albicans (48,3%), C. glabrata (13,3%), C. parapsilosis (10,0%), C. crusei (8% 3), C. tropicalis (8,3%), Candida spp. (5%), C. lipolytica (1.7%) and C. famota (1.7%). Amphotericin B resistance rate was 10.40% for C. albicans, 9.7% for non-albicans, fluconazole resistance rate was 3.5% for C. albicans, 19.4% for non-albicans, voriconazole resistance rate was 7,00% for C. albicans. No resistance was found in non-albicans species. There was no resistance to caspofungin, itraconazole and micafungin. According to the results of antifungal susceptibility, there was no increased resistance among Candida species compared to previous years. Conclusions: In this study, total parenteral nutrition and the use of piperacillin-tazobactam, meropenem and imipenem were the most frequent risk factors for Candida-associated bloodstream infections. The most frequently isolated species was Candida albicans. The proportion of total non-albicans species was high as a result.