Emergence of non albicans Candida in a tertiary care hospital of north In-dia

Introduction: Over past few years, a dramatic increase in the incidence of infections caused by Candida species is seen, which has been attributed to increased number of immunocompromised patients, widespread use of broad spectrum antibiotics, long term use of corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs, prolonged hospital stay and use of advanced life support systems Aims and Objectives:To determine the incidence of Candida infections among patients admitted to a tertiary care teaching hospital of north India, characterise Candida isolates upto to specie level and also to evaluate presence of any drug resistance among these strains. Material and Methods:Present study was a hospital based prospective study carried out in the Department of Microbiology, of a tertiary care hospital in north India, over a period of one year from June 2016 to May 2017. For all Candida isolates obtained from various clinical samples, identification to the species level and anti-fungal susceptibility testing was done by automated Vitek 2 compact system (Biomerieux). Results were interpreted as per CLSI guidelines. Results:A shift of trends from Candida albicans to non albicans Candida was observed as out of total 56 isolates, the number of Candida albicans isolates was 16 (28.6%) and non-albicans Candida was 40 (72.4%). Anti-fungal susceptibility test results showed high susceptibility to Voriconazole and Amphotericic B. Only 5.35% (3/56) of Candida isolates showed resistance. Conclusions: Since non albicans Candida has emerged as an important nosocomial pathogen and these species are intrinsically resistant to some of the commonly used anti fungal drugs so anti-fungal susceptibility should be routinely performed to improve the treatment outcomes, for the benefit of the patient. Keywords: Candida albicans, Shift, non albicans Candida, Anti fungal susceptibility testing