Esophageal Candidiasis in non-immune suppressed patients in a semi-urban town, southern India

Objectives. Prevalence of Esophageal Candidiasis in non-immune compromised patients in a semi-urban town, was investigated. Further, various investiga tion procedures to detect the candidal pathogen were compared. Methods. A t otal of 933 patients with odynophagia and dysphagia were included in this s tudy. Upper GI endoscopy was performed in all these patients and biopsy spe cimens were taken from the site of lesions. Oral swabs were also taken. Bot h these specimens were analyzed for the presence of fungal pathogen through , direct microscopic examination and culture method. Results. Among the dia gnostic techniques, culture of biopsy in Sabouraud's media was found to be the most reliable method. Of the 933 trialists, 61 were found to have lesio ns of varied degree of severity. Among these, 56 were positive for fungal p athogen, which was confirmed by germ tube test, cultural characteristics, a uxanogram, etc., Candida albicans (87.5%) was the most predominant pathogen followed by C. tropicalis (8.9%). Men in the age group of 40 years and abo ve were observed to have higher frequency of candidal infections compared t o other groups of trialists. Conclusion. This investigation strongly sugges ts the possibilities of candidal infections in patients even in the absence of predisposing factors such as HIV infection or immune compromised condit ions. Hence, patients with symptoms of odynophagia and dysphagia shall be c onsidered for possible esophageal candidiasis.