Nosocomial bloodstream infections associated with Candida species in a Turkish University Hospital

Summary In recent years, a progressive increase in the frequency of nosocomial candidaemia has been observed, especially among the critically ill or immunocompromised patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the trend in incidence of candidaemia together with potential risk factors in an 850‐bed Turkish Tertiary Care Hospital in a 4‐year period. A total of 104 candidaemia episodes were identified in 104 patients. The overall incidence was 0.56 per 1000 hospital admissions and the increase in incidence of candidaemia from 2000 to 2003 was found to be statistically significant (P = 0.010). Candida albicans was the most common species (57.7%) and non‐albicans species accounted for 42.3% of all episodes. The most common non‐albicans Candida sp. isolated was C. tropicalis (20.2%) followed by C. parapsilosis (12.5%). The most frequent risk factors possibly associated with the candidaemia were previous antibiotic treatment (76.9%), presence of central venous catheter (71.2%) and total parenteral nutrition (55.8%). Our results show the fact that the incidence of candidaemia caused by non‐albicans species is frequent and increasing significantly, although the most common isolated Candida species were C. albicans and further investigations are necessary to evaluate the mechanisms of increasing incidence of candidaemia caused by non‐albicans species.