Fungal yield from sterile specimens

Clinicians may not request fungal culture when it is indicated. For sterile specimens without a specific request for fungal culture, in addition to bacteriology media, we routinely incubated a Sabouraud dextrose agar (SAB) plate for 4 weeks. From 44635 sterile specimens from years 2011 to 2016, 2722 (6.1%) had fungal request. Fungi were identified from 1037 (2.3%) specimens, 292 (0.6%) from specimens with specific fungal request, 574 (1.3%) from bacteriology media, and 171 (0.4%) solely from SAB plate (of 171, 77 were deemed clinically significant and 55 were treated). Relying on request for fungal studies from sterile specimens underdiagnosed fungal infection. Routine fungal culture had a modest incremental yield at a moderately high cost.

Routine fungal culture of sterile specimens had a modest incremental yield to routine bacteriology culture and specific fungal request at a moderately high financial cost.