Candidemia profile and antifungal drugs susceptibility pattern in neonatal intensive care unit patients in a tertiary care teaching institute of punjab, india

Introduction: Invasive candidiasis is one of the most common encountered problem in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). During last two decades there is change in emerging species and sensitivity pattern. This study aims to find magnitude and drug susceptibility pattern of Candida species in NICU at tertiary level center. Methods: Total 426 blood cultures were tested. Identification was done by both conventional and automated VITEK-2 system. Antifungal susceptibility was done according to CLSI M27-A3 method. Results: From 44 isolates, all (100%) were Non albicans Candida (NAC). From NAC, C. tropicalis (40.91%) was predominant followed by C. pelliculosa (34.09%) and C. krusei (25%). From all the isolates, fluconazole, flucytosine, amphotericin B and caspofungin were sensitive in 67%, 79%, 90.9% and 92.5% respectively isolates. Voriconazole and micafungin were 100% sensitive. Conclusion : Since, Candida spp. are assuming an increasingly important role in nosocomial infections in neonates, preventive measures such as appropriate use of multiple invasive medical devices and a restrictive policy of antibiotic use to decrease Candida colonization rates should be implemented to decrease the emergence of NAC spp.