Retrospective evaluation of candidemic patients among general surgery department in a tertiary care university hospital
Uğur Önal1, Dilek Yeşim Metin2, Can Karaca3, Süleyha Hilmioğlu Polat2, Sinan Ersin4, Meltem Işıkgöz Taşbakan1
1Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Ege University School of Medicine, İzmir, Turkey
2Department of Medical Microbiology, Ege University School of Medicine, İzmir, Turkey
3Department of General Surgery, İzmir Economics University School of Medicine, İzmir, Turkey
4Department of General Surgery, Ege University School of Medicine, İzmir, Turkey
Abstract
Objective: Candida species are among the most important causes of hospital acquired blood borne infections, and with high rates of mortality and morbidity, these infections are still a major problem today. History of gastrointestinal surgery, administration of total parenteral nutrition and/or wide spectrum antibiotics and immune suppression following organ transplantations are considered serious risk factors for these infections. This study aimed to evaluate the patients from our general surgery department with diagnosed candidemia; by means of strain, treatment and prognosis.
Material and Methods: Patients with positive blood cultures for Candida species who were treated in the wards and Ege University Faculty of Medicine general surgery department of surgical intensive care units of our between 2012 and 2017 were retrospectively analyzed by means of strain, treatment and prognosis.
Results: A total of 50 patients were enrolled in the study. Mean age was 58.96 years and 54% of the patients were female. There were nine patients with organ transplantation (four liver and five kidney transplantations), six with intestinal perforation and three with anastomotic leakage. Isolated strains were Candida albicans (36%; 18/50), Candida tropicalis (14%; 7/50), Candida glabrata (12%; 6/50), Candida parapsilosis (8%; 4/50), Candida kefyr (6%; 3/50), Candida krusei (4%; 2/50), Candida pulcherrima (2%; 1/50), Cryptococcus neoformans (2%, 1/50), Geotrichum capitatum (2%, 1/50), Candida spp. (unidentified, 14%; 7/50) with decreasing frequency. The highest antifungal sensitivity rates (> 90%) were measured for amphotericin B, voriconazole and echinocandins among all isolates. One-month mortality rate was 43.4% (20/46). Documented eradication was achieved among 24 of the 33 patients who had control blood culture samples (72.7%), and mean eradication time was 7.6 days. Echocardiography was performed in 14% (7/50) and ophthalmic examination in 8% (4/50).
Conclusion: Although C. albicans appears to be the dominant strain in patients with candidemia, frequencies of other strains are increasing. Early diagnosis and treatment of patients with candidemia is of vital importance due to high mortality and morbidity rates.
Keywords: Candidemia, prognosis, treatment, risk factors
Cite this article as: Önal U, Metin DY, Karaca C, Hilmioğlu Polat S, Ersin S, Işıkgöz Taşbakan M. Retrospective evaluation of candidemic patients among general surgery department in a tertiary care university hospital. Turk J Surg 2019; 35 (3): 210-213.
No ethics committee approval was sought due to the retrospective design of the study.
Due to the retrospective design of the study, the informed consent was not obtained.
Externally peer-reviewed.
Consept - U.Ö., M.I.T.; Design - U.Ö.; Supervision - M.I.T., Resource - D.Y.M., S.H.P., C.K., S.E., Materials - D.Y.M., S.H.P.; Data Collection and/or Processing - U.Ö., D.Y.M.; Analysis and Interpretation - U.Ö.; Literature Search - U.Ö.; Writing Manuscript - U.Ö.; Critical Reviews - M.I.T., D.Y.M.
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
The authors declared that this study has received no financial support.