Candida urinary tract infection and Candida species susceptibilities to antifungal agents

The purpose of this study is to review Candida isolation from urine of urinary tract infection (UTI) patients over the recent 3 years at the Kobe University Hospital. We recorded the type of strain, the department where the patient was treated such as the intensive care unit (ICU), and combined isolation of Candida with other microorganisms. We investigated Candida isolation and susceptibilities to antifungal agents and analyzed the risk factors for combined isolation with other microorganisms. The most frequently isolated Candida was Candida albicans, which showed good (100%) susceptibilities to 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC) and fluconazole (FLCZ) but not to voriconazole (VRCZ), followed by C. glabrata. ICU was the greatest source of Candida-positive samples, and the most relevant underlying diseases of ICU patients were pneumonia followed by renal failure and post liver transplantation status. Combined isolation with other bacteria was seen in 27 cases (42.9%) in 2009, 25 (33.3%) in 2010 and 31 (31.3%) in 2011 and comparatively often seen in non-ICU patients. Other candidas than C. albicans showed significantly decreased susceptibility to FLCZ over these 3 years (P=0.004). One hundred (97.1%) of 103 ICU cases were given antibiotics at the time of Candida isolation, and the most often used antibiotics were cefazolin or meropenem. In conclusion, C. albicans was representatively isolated in Candida UTI and showed good susceptibilities to 5-FC, FLCZ and VRCZ, but other candidas than C. albicans showed significantly decreased susceptibility to FLCZ in the change of these 3 years.