Candidemia at a tertiary-care hospital:: Epidemiology, treatment, clinical outcome and risk factors for death

The demographic, clinical and microbiological data of patients with candidemia at the "Hopital Universitario La Fe", a tertiary-care hospital in Valencia, Spain, from 1995 to 1997 was analyzed retrospectively. Candida spp. were isolated in blood cultures from 145 patients, 32% of whom were children (25% of these were neonates). The most common species isolated was Candida albicans, followed by Candida parapsilosis, Candida krusei and Candida tropicalis. Risk factors for candidemia included underlying disease, therapy with broad-spectrum antibiotics and the presence of a central venous catheter. The majority of children were treated with amphotericin B, whereas 52% of adults received fluconazole. Overall mortality was 44% (30% in children and 50% in adults), and attributable mortality was 30% (24% in children and 33% in adults). Multivariate analysis indicated that neutropenia, corticosteroid therapy, lack of antifungal treatment, and failure to replace the central venous catheter were factors associated with candidemia-related death. Among the adult population, an APACHE II score greater than 15 predicted candidemia-related death.