Volume 21, Number 11—November 2015
CME ACTIVITY - Synopsis
Uncommon Candida Species Fungemia among Cancer Patients, Houston, Texas, USA
Dong Sik Jung1, Dimitrios Farmakiotis12, Ying Jiang, Jeffrey J. Tarrand, and Dimitrios P. Kontoyiannis
Table 1
Characteristics of 68 cancer patients with candidemia caused by uncommon Candida species, Houston, Texas, USA*
| Parameter |
Result |
| Median age, y (range) | 54 (19–82) |
| Male sex, no. (%) |
39 (57) |
| Malignancy, no. (%) | |
| Leukemia | 42 (62) |
| Lymphoma/multiple myeloma | 9 (13) |
| Solid tumor |
17 (25) |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index, median (range) | 5 (2–10) |
| APACHE II score, median (range) | 18 (3–39) |
| ≥19, no. (%) | 27 (40) |
| <19, no (%) |
41 (60) |
| Intraabdominal source,† no. (%) | 37 (54) |
| Central venous catheter, no. (%) |
65 (96) |
| Corticosteroid-based treatment within 30 d before the day of blood culture collection, no. (%) |
29 (43) |
| Chemotherapy within 30 d before the day of blood culture collection, no. (%) |
51 (75) |
| HSCT, no. (%) | 18 (27) |
| GVHD, no. (%) | 10 (15) |
| TPN, no. (%) | 12 (18) |
| Hemodialysis, no. (%) | 10 (15) |
| ICU stay, no. (%) | 35 (52) |
| Intubation, no. (%) |
11 (16) |
| Neutropenia at onset, no. (%) | |
| ANC <500/μL | 44 (65) |
| ANC <100/μL |
40 (59) |
| Duration of neutropenia (<500/μL) before the day of blood culture collection, no. (%) | |
| 1–14 d | 22/44 (50) |
| 15–28 d | 8/44 (18) |
| >28 d | 14/44 (32) |
*Characteristics were recorded on the day of blood culture collection, unless otherwise specified. APACHE II, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II; HSCT, hematopoietic stem cell transplant; GVHD, graft-versus-host diseases; TPN, total parenteral nutrition; ICU, intensive care unit; ANC, absolute neutrophil count.
†Intraabdominal source was defined as cases of abdominal surgery, gastrointestinal GVHD, peritonitis, cholecystitis, and cholangitis.
1These authors contributed equally to this article.
2Current affiliation: Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
Page created: October 19, 2015
Page updated: October 19, 2015
Page reviewed: October 19, 2015
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