CANDIDEMIA IN INTENSIVE-CARE UNIT PATIENTS - RISK-FACTORS FOR MORTALITY

Aim of this study was to evaluate whether risk factors which predict t he development of candidemia may also predict death in ICU patients wi th candidemia. During an 8-year-period all ICU patients whose blood cu ltures yielded Candida species (n=40) were retrospectively evaluated i n a case-control fashion, The average incidence of Candida bloodstream infections was 5.5 per 10,000 patient days, ranging from 2.4 in 1990 to 7.4 in 1994. C. albicans was the most common pathogen in candidemic patients, but the proportion of non-C, albicans strains showed an inc reasing trend during 1989-1993, with a major shift towards non-C. albi cans species in 1994. The overall mortality of patients with candidemi a was 58%. Mortality was highest in the group of patients with multi-o rgan dysfunction syndrome, especially among those in need of hemodialy sis. Risk factors for the development of candidemia, such as age, mali gnancy, steroid use, i.v. catheterization, and the use of broad-spectr um antibiotics were not correlated with mortality in the ICU patients studied.