IDENTIFICATION OF YEAST Candida SPECIES ISOLATED FROM BLOOD CULTURES OF CANCER PATIENTS AND BIOFILM DETECTION

Abstract

Cancer patients are susceptible to fungal infections due to the cytotoxic effects of chemotherapy, possible need for surgical procedures and hospital admissions, and the use of invasive medical devices. Among fungal infections, the ones caused by the genus Candida stand out, with C. albicans being the most prevalent. However, the emergence of non-albicans species has been described in different geographic regions. Non-albican Candida species may present variable susceptibilities to antifungal agents, which makes it important to identify them correctly. Our objective was to identify the species of the genus Candida isolated from blood cultures of cancer patients and evaluate their capacity of biofilm formation. A prospective experimental study was conducted for two years (2015 to 2017) with yeasts isolated from blood culture of patients admitted to a reference cancer hospital in the city of Curitiba, state of Paraná, Brazil. The microorganisms were identified by Matrix Associated Laser Desorption-Ionization Time-of-Flight and biofilm formation was identified by the phenotypic technique in a tube. A total of 42 isolates were identified in the study, distributed in 16 C. krusei, nine C. albicans, six C. parapsilosis, five C. glabrata, three C. guillermondii, two C. tropicalis and one C. novergensis. Out of these isolates, 25 were positive for biofilm formation, which was more frequent for C. non-albicans (23). Therefore, this study has demonstrated the importance of the rapid and reliable identification of yeast species and their capacity to form biofilm to ensure targeted treatment and knowledge about epidemiology.