Candidemia in a reference center for maternal and infant health: clinical and epidemiological features and risk factors in premature infants weighing less than 1,500 g

Abstract

Candidemia is the second hospital infection that worsens most frequently the clinical course of premature infant, with
mortality rates ranging from 15 to 59%. Therefore, the current study aimed to identify clinical and epidemiological
features and risk factors for candidemia in preterm infants with birth weight less than 1,500 g. Of the total of 231
records, 22 infants with positive blood culture for Candida spp. were studied in the period from January 2008
to December 2012. Of the 22 preterm infants who developed infection, the most frequent species was Candida
parapsilosis affecting 12 (54.5%) babies. The average birth weight was 1,217 g, all newborns need a central venous
catheter and 21 (95%) need a mechanical ventilation. It was concluded that the frequency of invasive candidiasis is
still low in the studied hospital, but with high mortality in neonates below 1,500 g who presented as risk factors: the
presence of central venous catheter, mechanical ventilation and total parenteral nutrition.