Work

The first reported case of candidemia caused by the novel Candida tropicalis diploid sequence type 1515

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Since the dawn of the new millennium, Candida species have been increasingly implicated as a cause of both healthcare-associated as well as opportunistic yeast infections, due to the widespread use of indwelling medical devices, total parenteral nutrition, systemic corticosteroids, cytotoxic chemotherapy, and broad-spectrum antibiotics. Candida tropicalis is a pathogenic Candida species associated with considerable morbidity, mortality, and drug resistance issues on a global scale. METHODOLOGY: We report a case of a 43-year-old man who was admitted to our hospital for further management of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. During his stay in the ward, he received systemic corticosteroids for a total duration of 32 days. A broad-spectrum antibiotic (piperacillin-tazobactam) was also given due to copious amounts of tracheostomy secretions. RESULTS: The patient's fever recurred following an afebrile interval of 11 days, and C. tropicalis was cultured from his blood. The yeast was highly resistant to fluconazole and voriconazole but remained susceptible to echinocandins. Unfortunately, the patient was unable to receive any echinocandin and eventually succumbed to candidemia. CONCLUSIONS: Multilocus sequence typing was used to characterize C. tropicalis as a novel diploid sequence type (i.e., 1515) that has not been previously reported.

Source: The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries

DOI: 10.3855/jidc.20096

Authors: Chuan H Ding, Shiamala D Navarathinam, Hui-Min Neoh, Toh L Tan

Institution: National University of Malaysia

Language: English

Topic: Antifungal resistance and susceptibility

Subfield: Infectious Diseases

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $394