Invasive Candidiasis.

Inadequate antimicrobial treatment is an independent determinant of hospital mortality, and fungal bloodstream infections are among the types of infection with the highest rates of inappropriate initial treatment. Because of significant potential for reducing high mortality rates, we sought to assess the impact of delayed treatment across multiple study sites. The goals our analyses were to establish the frequency and duration of delayed antifungal treatment and to evaluate the relationship between treatment delay and mortality. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients with candidemia from 4 medical centers who were prescribed fluconazole. Time to initiation of fluconazole therapy was calculated by subtracting the date on which fluconazole therapy was initiated from the culture date of the first blood sample positive for yeast. A total of 230 patients (51% male; mean age +/- standard deviation, 56 +/- 17 years) were identified; 192 of these had not been given prior treatment with fluconazole. Patients most commonly had nonsurgical hospital admission (162 patients [70%]) with a central line catheter (193 [84%]), diabetes (68 [30%]), or cancer (54 [24%]). Candida species causing infection included Candida albicans (129 patients [56%]), Candida glabrata (38 [16%]), Candida parapsilosis (25 [11%]), or Candida tropicalis (15 [7%]). The number of days to the initiation of antifungal treatment was 0 (92 patients [40%]), 1 (38 [17%]), 2 (33 [14%]) or > or = 3 (29 [12%]). Mortality rates were lowest for patients who began therapy on day 0 (14 patients [15%]) followed by patients who began on day 1 (9 [24%]), day 2 (12 [37%]), or day > or = 3 (12 [41%]) (P = .0009 for trend). Multivariate logistic regression was used to calculate independent predictors of mortality, which include increased time until fluconazole initiation (odds ratio, 1.42; P < .05) and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score (1-point increments; odds ratio, 1.13; P < .05). A delay in the initiation of fluconazole therapy in hospitalized patients with candidemia significantly impacted mortality. New methods to avoid delays in appropriate antifungal therapy, such as rapid diagnostic tests or identification of unique risk factors, are needed.

Invasive candidiasis (IC) is an important healthcare-related infection, with increasing incidence and a crude mortality exceeding 50%. Numerous treatment options are available yet comparative studies have not identified optimal therapy. We conducted an individual patient-level quantitative review of randomized trials for treatment of IC and to assess the impact of host-, organism-, and treatment-related factors on mortality and clinical cure. Studies were identified by searching computerized databases and queries of experts in the field for randomized trials comparing the effect of ≥2 antifungals for treatment of IC. Univariate and multivariable analyses were performed to determine factors associated with patient outcomes. Data from 1915 patients were obtained from 7 trials. Overall mortality among patients in the entire data set was 31.4%, and the rate of treatment success was 67.4%. Logistic regression analysis for the aggregate data set identified increasing age (odds ratio [OR], 1.01; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00-1.02; P = .02), the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score (OR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.08-1.14; P = .0001), use of immunosuppressive therapy (OR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.18-2.44; P = .001), and infection with Candida tropicalis (OR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.11-2.39; P = .01) as predictors of mortality. Conversely, removal of a central venous catheter (CVC) (OR, 0.50; 95% CI, .35-.72; P = .0001) and treatment with an echinocandin antifungal (OR, 0.65; 95% CI, .45-.94; P = .02) were associated with decreased mortality. Similar findings were observed for the clinical success end point. Two treatment-related factors were associated with improved survival and greater clinical success: use of an echinocandin and removal of the CVC.

Blood cultures are limited for diagnosing invasive candidiasis by poor sensitivity and slow turn-around time. New diagnostics are needed to complement cultures, in particular to identify the "missing 50%" of patients who are blood culture-negative. Mannan/anti-mannan immunoglobulin G, β-D-glucan (BDG) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays can diagnose candidemia before blood cultures and show promising sensitivity/specificity, but they are not widely investigated in blood culture-negative, deep-seated candidiasis. In a recent study, BDG and PCR were superior to blood cultures in deep-seated candidiasis, suggesting they may identify currently undiagnosed patients and expand our understanding of disease spectrum. Positive predictive values of nonculture tests are limited by the low prevalence of invasive candidiasis, which mandates that results be interpreted judiciously. When used as biomarkers that assess a patient's risk of having invasive candidiasis, tests will facilitate preemptive antifungal strategies. Because negative predictive values are excellent, tests will also be useful for ruling out invasive candidiasis and discontinuing unnecessary antifungal therapy.