Candida utilis: a rare cause of septicemia in children

Abstract

Candida utilis is an emerging fungal pathogen in blood. The main aim of this study was to describe the prevalence, methods of speciation and antifungal susceptibility of Candida utilis at a tertiary care centre. Methods. This was a retrospective study carried out at a tertiary care centre in South India. Over a period of 1 year, three Candida utilis were isolated from blood culture identified by MALDI–TOF MS Version 3.2 and were confirmed by ITS sequencing. Susceptibility testing was carried out by micro broth dilution. Results. All three patients had a common risk factor of prolonged ICU stay but the source of infection could not be identified. Candida utilis isolates were identified by MALDI–TOF and confirmed by ITS sequencing. They were pansusceptible to all tested antifungal drugs. Among these, two patients who were treated in hospital had good clinical outcome and response to antifungal drugs. A third patient was lost to follow up. Conclusion. Candida utilis was predominantly seen between 0–3 month olds. Conventional methods of speciation were unable to identify C. utilis to species level. Rapid identification was done by MALDI–TOF MS and confirmed by sequencing. Rapid identification leads to prompt treatment and favours a good clinical outcome.