High rate of non-albicans candidemia in Brazilian tertiary care hospitals

Abstract

In order to evaluate the epidemiology of candidemia in Brazil, we performed a prospective multicenter study conducted in six general hospitals from Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. We enrolled a total of 145 candidemic patients (85 males) with a median age of 32 years. Non-albicans species accounted for 63% of all episodes and the species most frequently causing candidemia were C. albicans (37%), C. parapsilosis (25%), C. tropicalis (24%), C. rugosa (5%), and C. glabrata (4%). Systemic azoles were used before the onset of candidemia in only six patients. There were no differences in the coexisting exposures or underlying diseases associated with the species most frequently causing candidemia. The overall crude mortality rate was 50%. Nosocomial candidemias in our tertiary hospitals are caused predominantly by non-albicans species, which are rarely fluconazole resistant. This predominance of non-albicans species could not be related to the previous use of azoles. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc.