COMPARATIVE-STUDY OF MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY IN PREMATURE-INFANTS (BIRTH-WEIGHT, LESS-THAN-1,250 G) WITH CANDIDEMIA OR CANDIDAL MENINGITIS

Little information is available on long-term neurodevelopment of prema ture neonates with invasive candidal infections. We retrospectively st udied the outcomes for 25 premature neonates (birth weight, <1,250 g) with candidemia or candidal meningitis (cases) and compared them with 25 neonates matched for birth weight (+/-100 g) and gestational age (/-1 week) (controls). Durations of antibiotic therapy, artificial vent ilation, invasive catheterizations, and hyperalimentation were longer for cases than for controls. Cases had a higher final grade of intrave ntricular hemorrhage than did controls (median: 3.0 vs. 2.5, respectiv ely; P < .05), Forty-four percent (11 of 25) of cases and 16% (4 of 25 ) of controls died (P > .05), and 29% (4 of 14) of surviving cases and 14% (3 of 21) of controls were disabled (P > .05). More cases had com bined mortality and neurodevelopmental disabilities than did controls (60% vs. 28%, respectively; P < .05). Use of invasive therapies should be minimized for premature neonates at risk for invasive candidal inf ection that is associated with adverse outcomes.