European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

IDENTIFICATION AND SUSCEPTIBILITY TESTING OF CANDIDA SPECIES FROM NEONATES ADMITTED IN ICU BY VITEK-2 SYSTEM

Dr. Sanjida Khondakar Setu*, Dr. Abu Naser Ibne Sattar and Sanjar Taufiq

ABSTRACT

Background: In the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), candidal infections constitute a significant contributor to morbidity and mortality. The incidence of neonatal candidiasis is rising, primarily due to increased survival rates for low-birth-weight newborns, premature deliveries, life support systems and widespread use of broad-spectrum antibiotics. The prevalence of Candida species has gradually shifted over the last few decades from Candida albicans to non-albicans Candida. Methods: A total of 68 cases of neonatal candidaemia were used in this study. Using Vitek 2 Compact (Biomerieux France), the identification of Candida isolates from these samples and their antifungal sensitivity testing were carried out. Vitek 2 ID-YST cards are used to identify yeast and organisms that resemble yeast. The study was conducted in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka. Result: After 68 cases of newborn candidaemia were analyzed, the study found a 1.9:1 male preponderance. The majority of instances of candidemia were linked to low birth weight, 86.77% of the positive samples for candidemia were caused by non-albicans Candida, while C. albicans was the cause of 13.23% of the cases. Most of the C albicans exhibited resistance to widely used antifungal medications. The susceptibilities of each isolate to micafungin, voriconazole, and capsofungin were all the same. Conclusions: Around the world, candidaemia is becoming a more pressing issue for NICU patients. The etiological agent's antifungal susceptibility must be determined in conjunction with its identification due to changes in the epidemiology and pattern of antifungal susceptibility of Candida infections. With a prevalence of non-albicans Candida species in our location, our study highlights the clinical significance and mycological shift of Candida species in neonatal candidemia.

Keywords: Antifungal susceptibility, Candida albicans, neonatal candidaemia, non-albicans candida, Vitek 2 ID-YST.