Hospital-treated serious and invasive aspergillosis and candidiasis infections during the COVID-19 pandemic: a retrospective analysis of Hospital Episode Statistics data from England.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the burden of hospital-treated Aspergillus and Candida infections in England. DESIGN: A retrospective study using Hospital Episodes Statistics data to estimate the burden of serious and invasive fungal infections (SIFIs) in all patients admitted in England during March 2018-February 2020 (pre-COVID-19) and during March 2020-October 2021 (the COVID-19 period). SETTING: Hospitals in England. POPULATION: All patients with codes corresponding to serious and invasive aspergillosis and candidiasis in any diagnosis position during their admission pre-COVID-19 and during the COVID-19 period. OUTCOME MEASURES: Age, spells, patient counts, mean length of stay, admission to critical care unit (CCU), length of stay in CCU, 30-day readmissions, failed discharges (readmission within 7 days) and comorbidities. RESULTS: During the COVID-19 period, hospitalisation spells with an invasive candidiasis code fell by 3.2% and spells with an aspergillosis code by 24.8%. Mean length of stay was higher for patients with aspergillosis with or without COVID-19 and candidiasis with or without COVID-19 during the pandemic than before the pandemic. During the pandemic, mean length of stay was higher for patients with aspergillosis with COVID-19 than those with aspergillosis alone but slightly lower for patients with candidiasis with COVID-19 than for those with candidiasis alone. Of patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19, 52.5% with aspergillosis and 60.0% with candidiasis were treated in CCU compared with 13.2% and 37.1%, respectively, without a COVID-19 diagnosis. The percentage of 30-day readmissions and failed discharges for patients with SIFI was higher for those with COVID-19 than for those without. CONCLUSIONS: The burden of aspergillosis and candidiasis has been affected by COVID-19. Aspergillosis diagnoses fell among hospitalised patients during the pandemic, while candidiasis continued to fluctuate in patterns similar to pre-COVID-19. A higher burden for patients with SIFI was observed, whether or not they also had a diagnosis of COVID-19. Our findings highlight extra considerations and burden on management of serious SIFI as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Opportunistic Candida Infections in Critical COVID-19 Patients.

The frequency of opportunistic fungal infections in critically ill patients whose intensive care unit stays are prolonged due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is higher than in the period before COVID-19. We planned this study to improve the management of Candida infections by defining the Candida species, the etiology of infections caused by Candida species, and the antifungal susceptibility of the species. This retrospective study included patients older than 18 hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU) with a definitive diagnosis of COVID-19 for seven months (from March 2021 to September 2021). All study data that we recorded in a standard study form were analyzed with TURCOSA (Turcosa Analytics Ltd. Co., Turkey, www.turcosa.com.tr) statistical software. The patients were evaluated in four groups as group 1 (candidemia patients, n = 78), group 2 (candiduria patients, n = 189), group 3 (control patients, n = 57), and group 4 (patients with candidemia in urine cultures taken before Candida was detected in blood culture, n = 42). Candida species were identified using both conventional and VITEK® 2 (BioMérieux, France) methods. The antifungal susceptibility of fungi was determined using the E test method. Of the 5,583 COVID-19 patients followed during the study period, 78 developed candidemia, and 189 developed candiduria. The incidence of candidemia (per 1,000 admissions) was determined to be 1.6. As a result of statistical analysis, we found that Candida albicans was the dominant strain in candidemia and candiduria, and there was no antifungal resistance except for naturally resistant strains. Candida strains grown in blood and urine were the same in 40 of 42 patients. Mortality was 69.2% for group 1, 60.4% for group 2, and 57.8% for group 3. Antifungals were used in 34 (43.5%) patients from group 1, and 95 (50.2%) from group 2. In the candidemia group without antifungal use, mortality was quite high (77.2%). Antifungal use reduced mortality in the group 2 (p < 0.05). Length of ICU stays, comorbidity, broad-spectrum antibiotics, and corticosteroids are independent risk factors for candidemia in critically ill COVID-19 patients. Our study contributes to the knowledge of risk factors for developing COVID-19-related candida infections. The effect of candiduria on the development of candidemia in critically ill COVID-19 patients should be supported by new studies.

Candidiasis and Other Bacterial Infections among Patients Diagnosed with Burning Mouth Syndrome.

Background and Objectives: Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a state in which a patient experiences intraoral burning or a dysesthetic sensation without clinically evident causative lesions in the oropharyngeal area. The disorder is linked to a variety of conditions, including dry mouth, Candida, and bacterial infections. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of oral Candida and/or bacterial infections among patients with BMS and whether they have an effect on pain/burning and salivary flow levels. Objectives: (1) Gather patient data regarding the presence of oral infections, dry mouth, and pain levels in the morning, afternoon, and evening periods; (2) data analysis and assessment to determine medians, means, frequencies, correlations, and statistically significant differences between patient groups. Materials and Methods: Overall, 173 patients (23 males and 150 females) with BMS and 13 controls (five males and eight females) took part in the study. We measured pain/burning levels, unstimulated and stimulated salivary flow, the percentage of patients infected with Candida species and/or bacterial species, and the said species growth in Petri dishes. Results: Candida albicans was the most commonly found infection among patients with BMS (n = 28, 16.2%). Overall, 21.4% patients with BMS were diagnosed with either C. albicans or another Candida species. Enterobacter had the richest growth among patients with BMS (7.5% out of the infected 10.4% BMS patients). No statistical significance could be noted between the existence of either Candida species or bacterial species infections and changes in pain/burning and salivary flow levels. Negative correlations were noted between age and unstimulated and stimulated salivary flow, and positive correlations were noted between age and Candida andspecific bacteria species' growth levels. Conclusions: Although patients with present bacterial or Candida infections showed a marginal increase in pain/burning levels, no direct statistically significant associations could be made between the presence of Candida species or other bacteria and the symptoms among patients with BMS.

Laboratory-based surveillance of Candida auris in Colombia, 2016-2020.

BACKGROUND: Since the first report of Candida auris in 2016, the Colombian Instituto Nacional de Salud (INS) has implemented a national surveillance of the emerging multidrug-resistant fungus. OBJECTIVES: This report summarises the findings of this laboratory-based surveillance from March 2016 to December 2020. RESULTS: A total of 1720 C. auris cases were identified, including 393 (23%) colonisation cases and 1327 (77%) clinical cases. Cases were reported in 20 of 32 (62%) departments of Colombia and involved hospitals from 33 cities. The median age of patients was 34 years; 317 (18%) cases were children under 16 years, 54% were male. The peak number of cases was observed in 2019 (n = 541). In 2020, 379 (94%) of 404 cases reported were clinical cases, including 225 bloodstream infections (BSI) and 154 non-BSI. Among the 404 cases reported in 2020, severe COVID-19 was reported in 122 (30%). Antifungal susceptibility was tested in 379 isolates. Using CDC tentative breakpoints for resistance, 35% of isolates were fluconazole resistant, 33% were amphotericin B resistant, and 0.3% isolates were anidulafungin resistant, 12% were multidrug resistant, and no pan-resistant isolates were identified. CONCLUSION: For five years of surveillance, we observed an increase in the number and geographic spread of clinical cases and an increase in fluconazole resistance. These observations emphasise the need for improved measures to mitigate spread.

Candida spp. co-infection in COVID-19 patients with severe pneumonia: Prevalence study and associated risk factors.

BACKGROUND: Invasive fungal infections (IFI) are increasing in prevalence in recent years. In the last few months, the rise of COVID-19 patients has generated a new escalation in patients presenting opportunistic mycoses, mainly by Aspergillus. Candida infections are not being reported yet. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to determine the prevalence of systemic candidiasis in patients admitted to ICUs due to severe pneumonia secondary to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the existence of possible associated risk factors that led these patients to develop candidiasis. PATIENTS/METHODS: We designed a study including patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19. RESULTS: The prevalence of systemic candidiasis was 14.4%, and the main isolated species were C. albicans and C. parapsilosis. All patients that were tested positive for Candida spp. stayed longer in the ICU in comparison to patients who tested negative. Patients with candidiasis had higher MuLBSTA score and mortality rates and a worse radiological involvement. In our study, Candida spp. isolates were found in patients that were submitted to: tocilizumab, tocilizumab plus systemic steroids, interferon type 1ß and Lopinavir-Ritonavir. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggested a high prevalence of systemic candidiasis in severe COVID-19-associated pneumonia patients. Patients with Candidiasis had the worst clinical outcomes. Treatment with tocilizumab could potentialize the risk to develop systemic candidiasis.

Origin of new emergent Coronavirus and Candida fungal diseases-Terrestrial or cosmic?

The origins and global spread of two recent, yet quite different, pandemic diseases is discussed and reviewed in depth: Candida auris, a eukaryotic fungal disease, and COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2), a positive strand RNA viral respiratory disease. Both these diseases display highly distinctive patterns of sudden emergence and global spread, which are not easy to understand by conventional epidemiological analysis based on simple infection-driven human- to-human spread of an infectious disease (assumed to jump suddenly and thus genetically, from an animal reservoir). Both these enigmatic diseases make sense however under a Panspermia in-fall model and the evidence consistent with such a model is critically reviewed.

Axillary Digital Thermometers uplifted a multidrug-susceptible Candida auris outbreak among COVID-19 patients in Brazil.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the first outbreak of Candida auris in Brazil, including epidemiological, clinical and microbiological data. METHODS: After the first Candida auris-colonised patient was diagnosed in a COVID-19 ICU at a hospital in Salvador, Brazil, a multidisciplinary team conducted a local C. auris prevalence investigation. Screening cultures for C. auris were collected from patients, healthcare workers and inanimate surfaces. Risk factors for C. auris colonisation were evaluated, and the fungemia episodes that occurred after the investigation were also analysed and described. Antifungal susceptibility of the C. auris isolates was determined, and they were genotyped with microsatellite analysis. RESULTS: Among body swabs collected from 47 patients, eight (n = 8/47, 17%) samples from the axillae were positive for C. auris. Among samples collected from inanimate surfaces, digital thermometers had the highest rate of positive cultures (n = 8/47, 17%). Antifungal susceptibility testing showed MICs of 0.5 to 1 mg/L for AMB, 0.03 to 0.06 mg/L for voriconazole, 2 to 4 mg/L for fluconazole and 0.03 to 0.06 mg/L for anidulafungin. Microsatellite analysis revealed that all C. auris isolates belong to the South Asian clade (Clade I) and had different genotypes. In multivariate analysis, having a colonised digital thermometer was the only independent risk factor associated with C. auris colonisation. Three episodes of C. auris fungemia occurred after the investigation, with 30-day attributable mortality of 33.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Emergence of C. auris in Salvador, Brazil, may be related to local C. auris clade I closely related genotypes. Contaminated axillary monitoring thermometers may facilitate the dissemination of C. auris reinforcing the concept that these reusable devices should be carefully cleaned with an effective disinfectant or replaced by other temperature monitoring methods.

First reported outbreak of the emerging pathogen Candida auris in Canada.

BACKGROUND: Candida auris was first described in Japan in 2009 and has since been detected in over 40 countries. The yeast is concerning for multiple reasons, primarily: (1) challenges with accurate identification; (2) reported multidrug resistance; (3) published mortality rates of 30%-60%; and (4) persistence in the environment associated with human transmission. We report the emergence of a healthcare-associated cluster in the Greater Vancouver area in 2018 and describe the measures implemented to contain its transmission. METHODS: Cases were identified through passive and ring surveillance of affected wards. Positive isolates were sent to provincial and national reference laboratories for confirmation and genomic characterization. Extensive infection control measures were implemented immediately after the initial case was identified. RESULTS: Four cases were identified during the outbreak. In a 4-month period, over 700 swabs were collected in order to screen 180 contacts. Whole genome sequencing concluded that all isolates clustered together and belonged to the South Asian clade. No isolates harbored FKS gene mutations associated with resistance to echinocandins. Infection control measures, including surveillance, education, cleaning and/or disinfection, patient cohorting, isolation, and hand hygiene, effectively contained the outbreak; it was declared over within 2 months. CONCLUSIONS: The spread of C auris in healthcare facilities has not spared Canadian institutions. Our experience demonstrates that strict infection control measures combined with microbiological screening can effectively halt transmission in healthcare centers. The necessity of active prospective screening remains unclear.

Candida auris Outbreak in a COVID-19 Specialty Care Unit - Florida, July-August 2020.

In July 2020, the Florida Department of Health was alerted to three Candida auris bloodstream infections and one urinary tract infection in four patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who received care in the same dedicated COVID-19 unit of an acute care hospital (hospital A). C. auris is a multidrug-resistant yeast that can cause invasive infection. Its ability to colonize patients asymptomatically and persist on surfaces has contributed to previous C. auris outbreaks in health care settings (1-7). Since the first C. auris case was identified in Florida in 2017, aggressive measures have been implemented to limit spread, including contact tracing and screening upon detection of a new case. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, hospital A conducted admission screening for C. auris and admitted colonized patients to a separate dedicated ward.

Multidrug-Resistant Candida auris Infections in Critically Ill Coronavirus Disease Patients, India, April-July 2020.

In New Delhi, India, candidemia affected 15 critically ill coronavirus disease patients admitted to an intensive care unit during April-July 2020. Candida auris accounted for two thirds of cases; case-fatality rate was high (60%). Hospital-acquired C. auris infections in coronavirus disease patients may lead to adverse outcomes and additional strain on healthcare resources.