Nosocomial Cluster of Candida lipolytica Fungemia in Pediatric Patients

Abstract

 Candida lipolytica has rarely been reported as a human pathogen. An apparent outbreak of Candida lipolytica fungemia (n=5 cases) occurred in a pediatric ward over a 9-week period. The five patients infected were hospitalized in three adjacent rooms and cared for by the same healthcare workers. The index patient had central venous catheter-related fungemia, whereas the second patient, who was in the adjacent single room, had transient fungemia. Three additional cases of fungemia occurred in patients with hematological disorders who shared the same room; all three patients had central venous catheters and had been receiving oral fluconazole prophylaxis (50 mg/day for more than 3 weeks) at the time of infection. In vitro susceptibility testing of the strains showed that the MIC of fluconazole for all the isolates was 32 μg/ml. Random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis provided evidence of the clonal origin of the isolates, but the source of the outbreak was not identified. All four patients with persistent fungemia were successfully treated via catheter removal or empiric amphotericin B treatment. This outbreak shows the potential for the nosocomial epidemic transmission of Candida lipolytica.