[Fungal blood stream infection, its pathogen and antifungal su...

It is important to correctly diagnose fungal bloodstream infection in cancer patients. Antifungal susceptibility testing (AST)supplies useful information for the management of invasive fungal infection. We analyzed fungi isolated from blood samples in Shizuoka Cancer Center over a period of 6 years, and detected 59 strains including yeast(57 isolates) and mold(Aspergillus fumigatus, Scedosporium sp). The clinical background was reviewed using the medical record. The major fungi isolated from blood were Candida albicans(39.0%), followed by C. glabrata(22.0%), C. parapsilosis (20.3%), and C. tropicalis(13.6%). AST was carried out for 32 strains out of 59, according to the National Committee of Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS)M-27-A-2 method. Among 32 strains, 7 isolates were resistant to fluconazole and 8 to itraconazole. Through the research period, the distribution of MIC values for azole agents did not change widely; however, the values for micafungin increased between the former and latter periods. In order to estimate the efficacy of antifungal agents, it is thought that continuous monitoring and the establishment of a standard method to evaluate the sensitivity of antifungal drugs are necessary.