Candiduria in critically ill patients admitted to intensive care medical units

Background. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of candiduria in critically ill patients admitted to intensive care medical units (ICUs), to identify risk factors for candiduria and to assess the frequency distribution of different Candida spp. Subjects and methods. This was a prospective cohort observational and multicenter study. A total of 1,765 patients older than 18 years of age who were admitted for at least 7 days to 73 medical-surgical ICUs of 70 Spanish hospitals were included in the study. Urine cultures were performed once a week. Results. In 389 patients (22%), Candida spp. in one or more urine samples were isolated. In the multivariate analysis, independent risk factors for candiduria included: age >65 years, female sex, length of hospital stay before ICU admission, diabetes mellitus, total parenteral nutrition, mechanical ventilation and previous use of antimicrobials. Candida albicans was recovered in 266 cases (68.4%), followed by C. glabrata (32 cases, 8.2%) and C. tropicalis (14 cases, 36%). Previous use of antifungal agents was the only risk factor for the selection of Candida non-albicans candiduria (OR 2.64, 95% CI 1.35-5.14, P =0.004). In-hospital mortality was 48.8% in patients with candiduria compared to 36.6% in those without candiduria ( P <0.001). Significant differences were also found for ICU mortality (38.% vs. 28.1%, P <0.001). Conclusions. Twenty-two percent of critically ill patients admitted for more than 7 days in the ICU developed candiduria. C. albicans was the most frequent causative pathogen. Previous use of antifungals was the only risk factor for the selection of Candida non-albicans.