Prospective epidemiologic analysis of triazole-resistant nosocomial Candida glabrata isolated from patients at a comprehensive cancer center.

OBJECTIVE:

The emergence of Candida glabrata infections among patients with compromised immunity has become a serious concern, especially at centers caring for individuals with cancer.

METHODS:

During a prospective evaluation of Candida species associated with either clinically significant colonization or infection, 26.9% of C. glabrata isolates showed in vitro resistance to fluconazole (MIC of > or = 64 microg/ml).

RESULTS:

Antifungal susceptibility profiles and genetic fingerprinting analysis performed by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) techniques confirmed low-probability of phenotypic and genotypic relatedness among nosocomial C. glabrata isolates.

CONCLUSIONS:

Presence of polyclonal strains of C. glabrata in patients at our hospital was probably related to selection of resistant yeasts from environmental pool rather than monoclonal expansion or clustering of multi-drug resistant C. glabrata in high-risk patients.