Identification of Candida Species From Clinical Samples and Their Antifungal Susceptibility Patterns

Abstract

OBJECTIVE AND BACKGROUND: The incidence of Candida infections has increased dramatically over the past few decades due to increase in the number of population susceptible to fungal infections. With multiple antifungal agents that are available and recovery of clinical isolates that exhibit inherent or developed resistance to commonly used antifungal agents, it has become imperative to do susceptibility testing routinely. The study was done to determine the predisposing factors, species incidence and susceptibility pattern of Candida isolates to commonly used antifungal agents. METHODS: A total of 108 Candida species were recovered from symptomatic clinical cases. Candida isolates were speciated by germ tube test, chlamydospore formation on corn meal agar and color produced on chromogenic media. Antifungal susceptibility test was done by disk diffusion method for nystatin, fluconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole and amphotericin-B. RESULTS: Candida albicans is the most frequently isolated species. However, non-albicans Candida species, taken as a group has predominated in clinical samples. Chromogenic agar medium showed good correlation in species identification in comparison with conventional germ tube test and chlamydospore formation on corn meal agar. C. albicans (41), C. tropicalis (33), C. krusei (30) and C. glabrata (04) were isolated. Candida species showed 95.4% susceptibility to amphotericin-B, 77.8% to voriconazole, 69.4% to nystatin, 64.1% to fluconazole and 63.9% to itraconazole. CONCLUSION: Increasing incidence of nonalbicans species infection. Chromogenic medium can be used for species identification. Increasing resistance of Candida species to commonly used antifungal agents.