Ocular involvement in hospitalized patients with candidemia: analysis at a Boston tertiary care center

To study the prevalence, microbial profile, and risk factors for ocular involvement in patients with candidemia.

The records of all inpatient consultations requested at the Brigham and Women's Hospital from October 2009 to June 2011 to evaluate for ocular involvement in patients with candidemia were retrospectively reviewed.

Forty-nine consults were requested to rule out ocular involvement in patients with candidemia. The mean patient age was 55 years. In decreasing frequency, the organisms isolated were Candida albicans (42%), Candida parapsilosis (23%), Candida glabrata (17%), Candida tropicalis (8%), Candida dublinensis (5%), Candida krusei (3%), and Candida lusitaniae (3%). All patients were on antifungal treatment at the time of their initial ophthalmologic examination. One patient had evidence of chorioretinitis, and 3 patients had nonspecific fundus findings. Common risk factors included presence of an intravenous catheter, malignancy, and abdominal surgery.

Ocular involvement is rare among patients with systemic Candida infection.