Oropharyngeal Candida Colonization in Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Abstract

Objectives: Oral candidiasis has increased in recent years because of the increasing number of high-risk populations. The prevalence of Candida species is different worldwide because of the difference between population characteristics, sampling protocols, and geographic regions. Therefore, determining the more prevalent Candida species in different geographic regions seems essential. This study aimed to determine the more prevalent Candida species in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients in comparison with healthy individuals in Iran in 2016.
 Materials and Methods: Fifty-one patients with AML and 62 healthy controls participated in this cross-sectional study. Samples were collected using a swab rubbed softly on the dorsal surface of the tongue and the oropharynx. The samples were cultured on CHROMagar Candida for 2 to 4 days. For differentiation between albicans and non-albicans species, positive samples were linearly inoculated on Corn Meal Agar with Tween-80. Candida species were identified using a microscope. Data were analyzed using chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests.
 Results: Candida colonization was more frequent in AML patients (41.2%) in comparison with healthy participants (38.7%). Candida glabrata (C. glabrata; 27.5%) and Candida albicans (C. albicans; 32.3%) were the most common isolated species in the AML patients and the controls, respectively. There was a significant decrease in the frequency of C. albicans (P=0.022) and a significant increase in the frequency of C. glabrata (P=0.002) in the AML patients in comparison with the controls.
 Conclusion: AML patients are more susceptible to candidiasis. C. glabrata is the dominant Candida species in AML patients.

Oral Candida carriage and resistance against common antifungal agents in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients

“…In another European study, the oral Candida prevalence of 63.9% was observed among HSCT recipients’ pre-transplantation [ 15 ]. In a study by Shirazian from Tehran, Iran (2020) among subjects with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the prevalence of oral Candida colonization was observed in 41.2% of the patients more frequently compared with healthy subjects (38.7%) [ 16 ]. However, the methods of oral sampling and analysis of Candida spp.…”

“…In the study by Shirazian et al, Candida glabrata was the most prevalent Candida spp. among AML subjects [ 16 ]. In the European study by Laheij et al, in line with the current study, C. albicans was the most prevalent species, but a high prevalence of NAC species C. glabrata , C. tropicalis , and C. krusei were also detected, with an oral carriage of 70%, 80%, and 67%, respectively [ 17 ].…”

Oral Candida colonization and anti-fungal susceptibility pattern in patients with hematological malignancy

“…was higher than that of other species in a study performed by Keymaram et al [ 20 ]. Oropharyngeal Candida colonization was more prevalent in patients with acute myeloid leukemia, compared to healthy adults, and the dominant species was C. glabrata in a study carried out by Shirazian et al conducted from 2016 to 2017 in Tehran, Iran [ 21 ].…”

Candidiasis oral

“…La candidiasis es la infección micótica oportunista más prevalente en la cavidad oral [3]. Ésta es una de las características clínicas más comunes de los pacientes con VIH, observándose hasta en el 90% de los casos [2].…”