Rhodotorula spp. isolated from blood cultures: clinical and microbiological aspects

The emergence of less common fungal pathogens has been increasingly reported in the last decade. We describe 25 cases of Rhodotorula spp. isolated from blood cultures at a large Brazilian tertiary teaching hospital from 1996-2004. We also investigated the in vitro activity of four antifungal drugs,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medical mycology (Oxford) 2008-01, Vol.46 (6), p.547-556
Main Authors: Duboc De Almeida, Gisele M., Figueiredo Costa, Silvia, Melhem, Marcia, Motta, Adriana L., Walderez Szeszs, Maria, Miyashita, Fumiko, Pierrotti, Ligia C., Rossi, Flávia, Burattini, Marcelo N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Amphotericin B - pharmacology
Antifungal Agents - pharmacology
Brazil
Candidiasis - drug therapy
Candidiasis - microbiology
Candidiasis - mortality
Child
Child, Preschool
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Fungemia - drug therapy
Fungemia - microbiology
Fungemia - mortality
Humans
Male
Microbial Sensitivity Tests
Middle Aged
Retrospective Studies
Rhodotorula
Rhodotorula - drug effects
Rhodotorula - isolation & purification
Young Adult
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Summary:The emergence of less common fungal pathogens has been increasingly reported in the last decade. We describe 25 cases of Rhodotorula spp. isolated from blood cultures at a large Brazilian tertiary teaching hospital from 1996-2004. We also investigated the in vitro activity of four antifungal drugs, using a standardized method. The median age of patients was 43 years. The majority of patients (88%) had a central venous catheter (CVC) and 10 (40%) were recipients of a bone marrow transplant. The episode was classified as a bloodstream infection (BSI) in 80% of the patients. Amphotericin B deoxycholate was the most common antifungal used and CVC was removed in 89.5% of the patients. Death occurred in four patients (17.4%), all classified as BSI. All strains were identified as R. mucilaginosa by conventional methods. Misidentification of the species was observed in 20% and 5% of the strains with the Vitek Yeast Biochemical Card and API 20C AUX systems, respectively. Amphotericin B demonstrated good in vitro activity (MIC50/90, 0.5 µg/ml) and the MICs for fluconazole were high for all strains (MIC50/90, >64 µg/ml).
ISSN:1369-3786
1460-2709
DOI:10.1080/13693780801972490