Background. The frequency of
Candida isolates as a cause of
hospital infections has risen in recent years, leading to high rates of
morbidity and
mortality . The
knowledge of the
epidemiology of those
hospital acquired
fungal infections is essential to implement an adequate antifungal
therapy . Aims. To describe the
epidemiology of
Candida infections in
Intensive Care Units (ICUs) from a
surveillance network in
Colombia .
Methods . Information was collected from the
microbiology laboratories of 20
tertiary healthcare institutions from 10 Colombian cities using the Whonet®
software version 5.6. A general descriptive
analysis of
Candida species and susceptibility profiles focusing on
fluconazole and
voriconazole was completed between 2010 and 2013, including a sub-
analysis of
healthcare associated infections (HAIs) during the last year. Results.
Candida isolates made up 94.5% of the 2680 fungal isolates considered, with
similar proportions for
Candida albicans and non-C. albicans
Candida species (48.3% and 51.7%, respectively). Among the latter,
Candida tropicalis (38.6%) and
Candida parapsilosis (28.5%) were the most frequent species. Of note, among the
blood isolates C. albicans was not the main species. Most of the species isolated were susceptible to
fluconazole and
voriconazole . From the HAIs reported, 25.5% were caused by
Candida ; central line-associated
bloodstream infection was the most common HAI (58.8%). There were no statistically significant differences regarding length of
hospital stay and
device days among HAIs. Conclusions. In ICUs of
Colombia , non-C. albicans
Candida species are as frequent as C. albicans, except in
blood samples where non-C. albicans
Candida isolates predominate. Further studies are needed to evaluate
Candida associated
risk factors and to determine its clinical impact (AU)