Journal List > Korean J Clin Microbiol > v.11(1) > 1038148

Yang, Lee, and Suh: Distribution and Clinical Characteristics of Fungal Species Isolated from Blood Cultures over a 7-year Period at a Tertiary-care Hospital

Abstract

Background

Fungemia has increased over the past decade and is an important cause of significant morbidity and mortality. Since 1980, there has been an increase in the worldwide studies of nosocomial bloodstream fungal infections. We analyzed the distribution and the clinical characteristics of fungemia at a tertiary care hospital, Kyung Hee University hospital.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed medical records and laboratory findings of 139 patients who had fungemia from January 2000 to December 2006. We investigated the incidence of each fungal species, yearly occurrence, underlying diseases, hospitalized units, predisposing factors, use of the antifungal agents, mortality, and the characteristics of the expired group.

Results

The most common species isolated was C. albicans (40.3%), followed by C. tropicalis (24.5%). Overall, fungemia occurrence showed an increasing trend during the study period, except for the year 2004. Common predisposing factors were previous antimicrobial therapy (89.2%), central venous catheter (78.4%), and ICU admission state at diagnosis (59.7%). among the 139 patients, 98 (70.5%) were treated. Primary choice of antifungal agents included fluconazole (70.4%) and amphotericin B (29.0%). Overall mortality was 38.9% with the highest rate (47.1%) in patients with C. tropicalis and the lowest one (22.2%) in patients with C. parapsilosis. Predisposing factors for mortality due to fungemia in the univariate analysis included only mechanical ventilation (P=0.008).

Conclusion

Fungemia in the tertiary care hospital was caused predominantly by C. albicans and followed by C. tropicalis. The mortality rate was high and interspecies differences existed.

References

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Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of 139 patients with fungemia
Variable Mean±SD (range) or No. (%) of patients
Age (years) 59.0±21.0 (1∼89)
Sex  
Male 85 (61.2%)
Female 54 (38.8%)
Duration from admission to fungemia (days) 41.3±42.4 (4∼292)
Underlying condition  
Prematurity 6 (4.3)
Neoplasia  
Solid tumor 26 (18.7)
Leukemia 6 (4.3)
Severe trauma 8 (5.8)
Vasular disease  
Cardiac 4 (2.9)
Cerebral 33 (23.7)
GI disease 4 (2.9)
Pulmonary disease 10 (7.2)
Abdominal surgery 8 (5.8)
Renal disease 28 (20.1)
Diabetic mellitus 47 (33.8)
Predisposing factors  
Previous antimicrobial therapy 124 (89.2)
1 to 3 53
4 or more 71
Central venous catheter 109 (78.4)
Stay in ICU at diagnosis 84 (60.4)
Urinary catheter 78 (56.1)
Mechanical ventilator 51 (36.6)
Previous surgery 52 (37.4)
DM 47 (33.8)
Parenteral nutrition 35 (25.2)
Steroid therapy 29 (20.9)
Neutropenia 17 (12.2)
Dialysis 8 (5.8)
Chemotherapy 8 (5.8)
Radiation therapy 5 (3.6)
Table 2.
Fungus species isolated from blood cultures from 2000 to 2006
Species No. (%) of patients
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Total (%)
C. albicans 4 4 6 5 7 16 14 56 (40.3)
C. tropicalis 2 4 3 5 3 3 14 34 (24.5)
C. parapsilosis 2 2 2 5 3 3 1 18 (12.9)
C. glabrata 0 2 2 0 1 3 10 18 (12.9)
Candida spp. 0 2 1 1 0 0 2 6 (4.3)
Trichosporon beigelii 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 3 (2.2)
Others∗ 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 4 (2.9)
Total 8 (5.8) 15 (10.8) 17 (12.2) 17 (12.2) 14 (10.1) 27 (19.4) 41 (29.5) 139 (100)
Fungemias per 10,000 admissions 0.31 0.53 0.64 0.62 0.54 1.06 1.66 0.75

Others include Cryptococcus spp. (1 isolate), Candida guilliermondii (1 isolate), Saccharomyces (1 isolate), Rhodotorula (1 isolate).

Table 3.
Distribution of the fungemia according to hospitalization unit
No. (%) of patients
Species ICU Hemato-oncology General ward
MICU SICU NICU nICU Medical Unit Surgical unit
C. albicans 18 7 6 4 2 11 8
C. parapsilosis 1 7 2 1 0 2 5
C. tropicalis 14 2 2 0 2 8 6
C. glabrata 9 3 1 0 1 2 2
Candida spp. 2 1 0 2 0 1 0
Trichosporon beigelii 0 0 0 0 2 0 1
Other 1 0 0 1 0 2 0
Total 45 (32.4) 20 (14.4) 11 (7.9) 8 (5.8) 7 (5.0) 26 (18.7) 22 (15.8)

Abbreviations: MICU, Medical intensive care unit; SICU, Sugical intensive care unit; NICU, Neurological intensive care unit; nICU, newborn intensive care unit.

Table 4.
Therapeutic regimens for patients with fungemia
Antifungal treatment No. (%) of patients Total No. (%)
CVC removal No CVC removal
Antifungal therapy 46 52 98 (70.5)
Monotherapy     83 (59.7)
AMP 10 16 26 (18.7)
FLC 27 30 57 (41.0)
Sequential therapy     15 (10.8)
AMP/FLC 0 1 1 (0.7)
FLC/AMP 7 4 11 (7.9)
AMP/CAS/FLC 0 1 1 (0.7)
AMP/FLC/AMP/CAS/FLC 1 0 1 (0.7)
FLC/AMP/FLC 1 0 1 (0.7)
Non antifungal therapy 6 35 41 (29.5)
Total 52 (37.4) 87 (62.6) 139 (100.0)

Abbreviations: CVC, central venous catheter; AMP, amphotericin B; FLC, fluconazole; CAS, caspofungin.

Table 5.
Univariate analyses of risk factors of fungemia-associated mortality in 129 patients
Variables Survived Expired  
  (n=82) Mean±SD or No. (%) (n=47) Mean±SD or No. (%) P value
Age 57.0±21.1 62.8±20.0 0.125
Sex     1
Male 50 (61.0) 28 (59.6)  
Female 32 (39.0) 19 (40.4)  
Duration from 34.2±39.7 53.0±46.9∗ 0.017
admission to fungemia      
onset (days)      
Stay of ICU length 27.9±40.7 42.8±47.1 0.103
  (n=57) (n=38)  
Important Fungal species      
C. albicans 32 (39.0) 19 (40.4) 1
C. parapsilosis 13 (15.9) 4 (8.5) 0.288
C. tropicalis 18 (22.0) 15 (31.9) 0.217
C. glabrata 11 (13.4) 7 (14.9) 0.798
Previous 72 (87.8) 43 (91.5) 0.573
antimicrobial therapy      
Central venous catheter 66 (80.5) 37 (78.7) 0.823
Stay in ICU 46 (56.1) 31 (66.0) 0.351
Parenteral nutrition 19 (23.1) 14 (29.8) 0.411
Major surgery 34 (41.6) 16 (34.0) 0.456
Neoplasia 16 (19.5) 10 (21.2) 0.823
Dialysis 6 (7.3) 1 (2.1) 0.421
DM 30 (36.6) 15 (31.9) 0.702
Urinary catheter 47 (57.3) 27 (57.4) 1
Mechanical ventilation 22 (26.8) 24 (51.1)∗ 0.008
CVC removal 34 (41.5) 15 (31.9) 0.311
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