Prevalence and Antifungal Susceptibility Profile of Oral Candida spp. Isolates from a Hospital in Slovakia.

Oral fungal infections are a worldwide healthcare problem. Although Candida albicans is still the most common yeast involved in the infections of oral cavity, non-Candida albicans Candida species (NCACs) have been highly related to these infections, particularly in older, immunosuppressed or patients with long exposure to antimicrobial drugs. The goal of this work was to perform a quick epidemiological and mycological study on the oral samples collected from a laboratory of a hospital in Slovakia, for 60 days. The samples' identification was performed by Germ-tube formation test, CHROMID® Candida, Auxacolor 2, ID 32C automated method, and the antifungal susceptibility testing determined by E-test®. Results confirm that comparing with bacteria, yeasts still occur in the lower number, but there is a high rate of antifungal resistance (81.6%)-to, at least one drug-among the collected samples, particularly to azoles and 5'-FC, which is clinically noteworthy.

Overview on the Prevalence of Fungal Infections, Immune Response, and Microbiome Role in COVID-19 Patients.

Patients with severe COVID-19, such as individuals in intensive care units (ICU), are exceptionally susceptible to bacterial and fungal infections. The most prevalent fungal infections are aspergillosis and candidemia. Nonetheless, other fungal species (for instance, Histoplasma spp., Rhizopus spp., Mucor spp., Cryptococcus spp.) have recently been increasingly linked to opportunistic fungal diseases in COVID-19 patients. These fungal co-infections are described with rising incidence, severe illness, and death that is associated with host immune response. Awareness of the high risks of the occurrence of fungal co-infections is crucial to downgrade any arrear in diagnosis and treatment to support the prevention of severe illness and death directly related to these infections. This review analyses the fungal infections, treatments, outcome, and immune response, considering the possible role of the microbiome in these patients. The search was performed in Medline (PubMed), using the words "fungal infections COVID-19", between 2020-2021.

Candida auris: A Quick Review on Identification, Current Treatments, and Challenges.

Candida auris is a novel and major fungal pathogen that has triggered several outbreaks in the last decade. The few drugs available to treat fungal diseases, the fact that this yeast has a high rate of multidrug resistance and the occurrence of misleading identifications, and the ability of forming biofilms (naturally more resistant to drugs) has made treatments of C. auris infections highly difficult. This review intends to quickly illustrate the main issues in C. auris identification, available treatments and the associated mechanisms of resistance, and the novel and alternative treatment and drugs (natural and synthetic) that have been recently reported.