The changing epidemiology of invasive candidiasis: Candida glabrata and Candida krusei as the leading causes of candidemia in hematologic malignancy.

BACKGROUND: The objective of the current retrospective study was to compare the epidemiology of candidemia and its risk factors in patients who had hematologic malignancies(HM) with those in patients who had solid tumors (ST).

METHODS: The medical and electronic records of all patients with cancer who had candidemia at the authors' institution from 1993 to 2003 were reviewed for demographic data and clinical information, including the use of prophylactic fluconazole, the infecting Candida species, and the source of candidemia (catheter-related vs other apparent sources).

RESULTS: Six hundred thirty-five patients with candidemia were analyzed. C. glabrata and C. krusei were the leading causes of candidemia in 31% and 24% of patients with HM, respectively, and in 18% and 2% of patients with ST, respectively (P < .001). A catheter was the source of candidemia in 36% of the patients with ST and in 12% of the patients with HM (P < .001). Response to antifungal therapy occurred in 73% of the ST group compared with 49% of the HM group (P < .001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that fluconazole prophylaxis was a risk factor for both C. glabrata and C. krusei candidemia. The analysis also identified neutropenia as a risk factor for all candidemia and catheter-related infection as a risk factor for C. parapsilosis candidemia.

CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicated that C. glabrata and C. krusei were the leading causes of candidemia in patients with HM. Neutropenia was the leading risk factor for all candidemia, whereas the catheter was the leading risk factor for C. parapsilosis candidemia.