Candida Lusitaniae Catheter-Related Sepsis

OBJECTIVE:To present a case describing Candida lusitaniae candidemia in an immunocompetent patient successfully treated with fluconazole antifungal therapy. Time—kill studies of the C. lusitaniae isolate using amphotericin B, and an extensive review of the literature are also presented.CASE SUMMARY:A 52-year-old immunocompetent Latin-American woman was admitted to the special care unit with severe sepsis. Her recent medical history included an exploratory laparotomy for gallstone pancreatitis, requiring cholecystectomy, segmental sigmoid colectomy, drainage of peritoneal abscesses, and a colostomy. In addition, the patient required a central venous catheter (CVC) placement for prolonged broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy and total parenteral nutrition therapy. Yeast was isolated from the abdominal abscess and blood cultures obtained on day 1, and from the catheter tip on day 5. The woman received initial empiric antifungal therapy with fluconazole, which was later changed to amphotericin B. After the yeast...