Volume 31, Number 3—March 2025
Synopsis
Candida auris Outbreak and Epidemiologic Response in Burn Intensive Care Unit, Illinois, USA, 2021–2023
, Louise Lie1, Alyse Kittner, Amanda Harrington, Joshua Carson, Mabel Frias, David H. Slade, Do Young Kim, Stephanie Black, Jorge P. Parada2, and Mary K. Hayden2
Table
Characteristics of 28 Candida auris outbreak case-patients in BICU, Illinois, USA, 2021–2023*
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Sex | |
| F | 13 (46) |
| M |
15 (54) |
| Average age, y (range) |
49 (16–81) |
| Admission diagnosis | |
| Burn | 18 (64) |
| Soft tissue infection not including burns | 9 (32) |
| COVID-19† |
1 (4) |
| C. auris culture source | |
| Axillary/inguinal screening culture‡ | 24 (86) |
| Clinical culture§ | 14 (50) |
| Blood | 8 (29) |
| Respiratory | 6 (21) |
| Wound | 8 (29) |
| Urine |
3 (11) |
| Co-infection with multidrug-resistant organism¶ |
13 (46) |
| Mean length of stay from admission to first positive C. auris culture, d (range) |
26 (7–83) |
| Recent hospitalization <1 month before hospitalization |
8 (29) |
| Medical devices used <1 week before positive C. auris culture | |
| Central venous catheter | 24 (86) |
| Ventilator | 18 (64) |
| Urinary catheter |
24 (86) |
| Ancillary medical services received <1 week before first positive C. auris culture | |
| Occupational therapy | 23 (82) |
| Physical therapy | 18 (64) |
| Speech therapy |
5 (18) |
| Mean length of stay in BICU, d (range) |
67 (6–442) |
| C. auris outcome | |
| Colonization | 14 (50) |
| Infection |
13 (46) |
| Discharge disposition | |
| Skilled nursing facility, acute rehab or other hospital | 17 (61) |
| Home | 5 (18) |
| Deceased | 6 (21) |
*Values are no. (%) except as indicated. BICU, burn intensive care unit. †Medical intensive care unit service patient on overflow to BICU. ‡Ten of the 24 patients with a positive axillary/inguinal screen also had C. auris identified from a clinical culture. §Of the clinical cultures, 4 patients had C. auris identified only in blood, 3 had C. auris only from wound infections, 1 had C. auris only from respiratory source, and the remaining 6 had C. auris identified in >1 clinical culture source. ¶A total of 13 patients were co-infected or co-colonized with 19 other multidrug-resistant organisms: 6 vancomycin-resistant enterococci, 5 extended-spectrum β-lactamase–producing organisms, 3 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, 2 multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MDR-PA), 1 carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, 1 carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales, 1 AmpC β-lactamase–producing organism.
1These first authors contributed equally to this article.
2These authors contributed equally to this article.