[Relation between candidiasis and nutrition of patients and MRSA infection]

We evaluated the relation with nutritional state and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection of 20 patients who isolated Candida of 31 patients who were suspected as candidiasis. All of the patients who were hospitalized in internal medicine wards in our hospital between February 1993 and January 1994. All patients with hematological disease were excluded. MRSA is now gotten much attention as pathogen of hospital infection, but each MRSA is detected not only alone but also concomitant with other bacterium. In our hospital MRSA was detected alone 36.8% (39/106). Candida 9.4% (10/106) was frequent as mixed infectious pathogen concomitant with MRSA following Pseudomonas aeruginosa 19.8% (21/106) and Enterococcus faecalis 12.3% (13/106). Intension of host-immunity is a important factor as prevention of both infection. We evaluated the nutritional state of patients with 7 cases of infection group and 13 cases of colonization group. There was no significance between two groups as for serum total protein (mean) were 5.97 g/dl in infection group and 5.96% g/dl in colonization group. Furthermore there were significance (p < 0.01) for mean serum albumin (mean) were 3.11 g/dl v.s. 3.27 g/dl. But both serum total protein and serum albumin of these evaluated patients who isolated Candida were less than normal limit. Therefore we considered nutritional disturbance was important addition to over-use of antibiotics and severe underlying diseases as risk factor of candidiasis, and revealed the importance of improvement of nutritional state at the prevention and therapy.