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P037 Study of magnitude and risk factors in patients with candidemia at a tertiary care hospital with speciation and antifungal susceptibility of pathogenic Candida isolates.

Abstract   Poster session 1, September 21, 2022, 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM Objectives Nosocomial candidiasis is associated with a mortality rate of over 60% while the attributable mortality rate is 49%. The present study was to determine the magnitude and risk factors in patients with candidemia at a tertiary care hospital with speciation and antifungal susceptibility of pathogenic Candida isolates. Methods The present study was a prospective, cross-sectional, observational study, conducted at a tertiary care hospital for a period of 1 year after approval from Institutional ethics committee. It included a total of 150 patients of all age groups, admitted to hospital for ˃48 h and diagnosed as proven Candidemia with isolation of Candida species from at least two blood culture samples or from a clinically significant single blood culture sample. A thorough history and clinical characteristics of each patient was noted. Blood was collected and processed as per standard protocol. Pathogenic Candida species were identified and their antifungal susceptibility testing was performed by disk diffusion method as per the standard method. The antifungal discs used were fluconazole (25 μg), itraconazole (10 μg), voriconazole (1 μg), and amphotericin B (100 units). Results were analyzed statistically using SPSS statistics 20. Results Candida species was isolated as the pathogen in 24/150 (16%) of clinically suspected cases of candidemia. Candida species isolated were non-albican Candida (NAC) species, mainly C. glabrata 11/24 (45.83%) followed by C. parapsilosis 8/24 (33.33%), and C. tropicalis 5/24 (20.83%). Candida species was isolated as the pathogen, predominantly in patients of age group 0-10 years [15/24 (62.5%)]. Majority of Candida species were isolated from patients who had prolonged ICU stays. Among 24 patients of proven candidemia, 2 (8.33%) patients were from NICU, 10 (41.6%) from PICU, and 3 (12.5%) from MICU. Other important risk factors observed in the present study were, recent major abdominal surgery, malignancy, and mechanical ventilation, each accounting for 2/24 (8.33%) cases. The resistance pattern of isolates of Candida species to antifungals showed that C. glabrata showed 100% resistance to fluconazole, 63.6% to itraconazole, and 45.4% to voriconazole. C. tropicalis showed 80% resistance to fluconazole, 60% to itraconazole, and 40% to voriconazole. Candida parapsilosis showed 87.5% resistance to fluconazole, 62.5% to itraconazole, and 37.5% to voriconazole. All three isolated pathogenic Candida spp. showed 100% susceptibility to amphotericin B. Mortality observed in present study was 7/24 (29.7%). A total of 5/7 patients were from ICU. Conclusion Non-albican Candida (NAC) species, mainly C. glabrata, C. tropicalis and C. parapsilosis were the causative agent of candidemia, seen to predominantly affect 0-10 year age group. Infections caused by Candida species remain a significant problem in ICU. An increase in resistance to azoles is a challenge to its empirical and prophylactic use. This necessitates the usage of antifungals, only on the basis of antifungal susceptibility patterns of the pathogenic isolates.

Objectives: Nosocomial candidiasis is associated with a mortality rate of over 60% while the attributable mortality rate is 49%. The present study was to determine the magnitude and risk factors in patients with candidemia at a tertiary care hospital with speciation and antifungal susceptibility of pathogenic Candida isolates.
Methods: The present study was a prospective, cross-sectional, observational study, conducted at a tertiary care hospital for a period of 1 year after approval from Institutional ethics committee. It included a total of 150 patients of all age groups, admitted to hospital for ˃48 h and diagnosed as proven Candidemia with isolation of Candida species from at least two blood culture samples or from a clinically significant single blood culture sample. A thorough history and clinical characteristics of each patient was noted. Blood was collected and processed as per standard protocol. Pathogenic Candida species were identified and their antifungal susceptibility testing was performed by disk diffusion method as per the standard method. The antifungal discs used were fluconazole ( 25 μg ) , itraconazole ( 10 μg ) , voriconazole ( 1 μg ) , and amphotericin B ( 100 units ) . Results were analyzed statistically using SPSS statistics 20.
Conclusion: Non-albican Candida ( NAC ) species, mainly C. glabrata , C. tropicalis and C. parapsilosis were the causative agent of candidemia, seen to predominantly affect 0-10 year age group. Infections caused by Candida species remain a significant problem in ICU. An increase in resistance to azoles is a challenge to its empirical and prophylactic use. This necessitates the usage of antifungals, only on the basis of antifungal susceptibility patterns of the pathogenic isolates.

Cross-resistance to clinical and agricultural azoles among Aspergillus fumigatus strains isolated from humans and environment in Italy
Anna Prigitano, Maria Carmela Esposto, Massimo Cogliati, Luisa Romanò Dpt. Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy Poster session 1, September 21, 2022, 12:30 PM -1:30 PM Objectives: In Italy, a prevalence of 16.9% of resistance to clinical azoles was observed among Aspergillus fumigatus isolates from an agricultural environment. This spread of azole-resistance is attributed to the widespread use of 14a-demethylase inhibitors ( DMIs ) .
The aims of the present study were to investigate: the DMIs resistance in Italian A. fumigatus strains of clinical and environmental origin, both susceptible and resistant to clinical azoles; the molecular mechanism of resistance in strains susceptible to clinical azoles but resistant to at least one of the tested DMIs; the in vitro DMI resistance induced by prolonged exposure to DMIs in susceptible clinical and environmental strains, and the molecular mechanism of resistance.
Results: Comparable results were obtained using EUCAST and CLSI methods. Resistance ( MIC ≥16 ) to tetraconazole and fenbuconazole was observed in 100% of isolates, both CAR and CAS. On the contrary, a statistically significant difference in tebuconazole, epoxiconazole, difenoconazole, propiconazole, and flusilazole MICs between CAR strains and CAS strains was observed with higher geometric means ( GM ) in CAR ( range 4.9-9.3 mg/L ) than in CAS ( 1.5-2.7 mg/L ) strains. Prochloraz showed the lowest GMs: 0.6 and 0.25 mg/L in CAR and CAS strains, respectively. A significant difference of the GMs for all the DMIs tested, except prochloraz, was observed between the isolates harboring a TR34/L98H or a M220I mutation ( GM range 10.4-16 mg/L ) and those with other CYP51A mutations ( GM range 1-4.6 mg/L ) .
In the CAS showing high DMI MICs, the absence of CYP51A mutations was confirmed, while a synonymous mutation P394P, was identified in CYP51B. No mutations in HMG1 gene were found.
Conclusions: Preliminary results confirm cross-resistance between clinical azoles and DMIs, with MIC differences between CAR and CAS and between strains with different mutations in the CYP51A gene. Furthermore, the ability of DMIs to induce resistance in vitro was highlighted.