Sunday, October 20, 2013

Candida bloodstream infections...

 2013 Feb;68(2):438-43. doi: 10.1093/jac/dks388. Epub 2012 Oct 19.

Treatment of Candida famata bloodstream infections: case series and review of the literature.

Source

University of Houston College of Pharmacy, 1441 Moursund Street, Houston, TX 77030, USA.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

Candida famata (also known as Debaryomyces hansenii and Torulopsis candida) is a commensal yeast found in cheese, dairy products and the environment. C. famata accounts for 0.2%-2% of invasive candidiasis. The purpose of this study was to provide an overview of the treatment of C. famata bloodstream infections.

METHODS:

The clinical course of two hospitalized patients who developed C. famata fungaemia within 2 weeks of each other was summarized along with available data regarding in vitro susceptibility patterns, genotyping and clinical outcomes of these cases compared with the published literature.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS:

C. famata appears to exhibit reduced susceptibility to echinocandins and azoles, particularly in the setting of prior antifungal exposure. The removal of indwelling central venous catheters and prompt initiation of therapy with liposomal amphotericin B is recommended for successful treatment of C. famata fungaemia, particularly in immunocompromised patients. These cases also help provide justification for routine antifungal susceptibility testing in patients with candidaemia to guide optimal antifungal therapy.
PMID:
 
23085777
 
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Note: Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening illness caused by the body’s severe reaction to infection by bacteria, fungi, viruses or parasites. It is one of the top 10 leading causes of 
death in the United States, and each hour of delayed treatment increases the mortality of these patients by 8%. Candida is a fungal pathogen known to cause sepsis, and it is 
associated with approximately 100,000 cases of candidemia in the U.S. annually, making it the fourth-leading cause of hospital-acquired infections. Currently, candidemia has a 40% 
mortality rate, which can be reduced to 11% with early identification of the specific species. 

Rapid diagnosis of Candida species...

Rapid diagnosis of Candida species:
Beyda ND, Alam MJ, Garey KW.
Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2013 Oct 14. doi:pii: S0732-8893(13)00400-8. 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2013.07.007. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
 
24135411
 
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher] 

Abstract

As a delay in the diagnosis and treatment of candidemia is associated with increased mortality and healthcare costs, a more rapid method of detection is urgently needed. The T2Candida assay is a new rapid diagnostic test, which uses T2 magnetic resonance technology to identify Candida spp. directly from whole blood in approximately 3 hours. In this study, the performance of the BACTEC 9050 using Aerobic Plus/F blood culture bottles was compared to that of the T2Candida assay run on the T2Dx Instrument for detection of Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida parapsilosis, Candida glabrata, and Candida krusei, in seeded blood samples at concentrations between 3.1 and 11 CFU/mL. The BACTEC 9050 detected Candida growth in 100% of bottles (n = 20 replicates) within 5 days for all species (63.23 ± 30.27 hours), with the exception of Candida glabrata (0%). The T2Candida assay had a 100% detection rate for each species (n = 13-20 replicates) within 3 hours including C. glabrata. The sensitivity and specificity of the T2Candida assay were 1 and 0.978, respectively.