Background:

Invasive Candida infections are frequent and exhibit high mortality in clinical practice. There are few published data in our country. This retrospective observational study intends to provide new knowledge about the local epidemiology of candidemia.

Methods:

136 patients older than 17 years were included when they had their first episode of candidemia during hospitalization at the Hospital Mexico, in the time period between 2007 and 2010. Descriptive and temporal analysis was performed and the risk factors associated with C. parapsilosis and survival were evaluated.

Results:

An average of 34 episodes of candidemia were recorded per year (range 27-51) and the cumulative incidence was 1.1 cases/1,000 admissions. The non-albicans Candida species accounted for 62% of the isolated yeasts, C. parapsilosis (41%) was the predominant yeast isolated in 3 out of the 4 years analized, except for 2009, followed by C. albicans (38%). Strong association between C. parapsilosis bloodstream infection, the presence of a central venous catheter (2.6 to 403.8, p <0.001 OR = 19.6, 95% CI) and use of parenteral nutrition (p=0.014) was established. The 30-day mortality was 46%, with C. albicans displaying the highest and C. parapsilosis the lowest. Patients who did not receive antifungal treatment had significantly higher mortality.

Conclusions:

The unusually high incidence of candidemia due to C. parapsilosis is directly related to the use of central venous catheters and parenteral nutrition; the marked reduction observed in 2009 needs further investigation to find out the causes of this change.

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