The prevalence of yeasts in clinical specimens from cancer patients

Yeasts recovered from cancer patients during a 15-month period were speciated, and the prevalence of these isolates in various types of clinical specimens was determined. Five species, including Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida parapsilosis, Candida krusei, and Torulopsis glabrata, accounted for 97.1% of the isolates. Eighteen different species were recovered. Respiratory and urine specimens yielded 75% of the organisms. C. albicans, C. tropicalis, and C. parapsilosis were recovered in about equal frequency from blood cultures. Certain species usually were recovered from one type of specimen: Candida quilliermondii from urine, Trichosporon cutaneum and Candida pseudotropicalis from respiratory sites, and Cryptococcus neoformans from spinal fluid. Pityrosporum orbiculare was isolated only from ear and urine cultures. Most of the yeasts (95.4%) were identified within 48 hours after isolation.