Epidemiology of nosocomial candidaemia in a university hospital: a 12-year study

The incidence of nosocomial candidaemia was evaluated in a retrospective study in a Turkish tertiary-care hospital. Over a 12-year period (1996-2007), a total of 743 episodes of candidaemia occurred in 743 patients, accounting for an average incidence of 1.9 episodes/1000 admissions and 2.9 episodes/10 000 patient-days per year. The annual incidence was almost constant during the study period except for 1996 when it was significantly higher in comparison with other years (P<0.05). The most common species isolated was Candida albicans (45%), followed by C. parapsilosis (26%), C. tropicalis (7%), C. krusei (7%), and C. glabrata (3.5%). A significant increase in C. albicans isolates causing candidaemia linked to a decrease in C. parapsilosis isolates in adult patients and C. krusei isolates in children was found between the two 6-year study periods. This trend reflects improved infection control at Uludağ University Hospital. Ninety percent of isolates were susceptible to fluconazole (8 microg/ml) and resistance was found only in C. glabrata and C. parapsilosis isolates. Regular local surveillance of Candida spp. is important in order to develop empirical treatment protocols to reduce the incidence and mortality of candidaemia.