Candidaemia in a Polish tertiary paediatric hospital, 2000 to 2010

Data on the epidemiology of invasive Candida infections in paediatric patients in Europe are still limited. The aim of this retrospective study was to analyse the epidemiology of candidaemia in a tertiary paediatric hospital in Poland from 2000 to 2010. Using microbiological records, a total of 118 episodes of candidaemia were identified in 114 children, with an annual incidence of 0.35 episodes/1000 discharges. The highest incidences were found in the medical intensive care unit (5.28), and in neonatal intensive care (1.47). The mortality rate was 8.5%. Candida albicans and C. parapsilosis were the most prevalent species (39.8% and 35.6% respectively). The prevalence of non-albicans species increased from 12.5% in 2000 to 70% in 2010. No differences were found between C. albicans and C. non-albicans episodes in terms of demographics, risk factors or mortality. The highest resistance rates (overall 7.6%) were observed for fluconazole (4.3% in C. albicans, 7.1% in C. parapsilosis and 13.8% in other Candida species). Resistance to amphotericin B (2.5%) was limited to non-albicans isolates. The dynamic changes in species distribution and increasing resistance of fungal pathogens confirm the importance of epidemiological surveillance.