Distribution and antifungal susceptibility of Candida species isolated from different age populations in Taiwan.

A total of 3,926 yeast isolates were isolated from 24 hospitals participating in the Taiwan Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance of Yeasts (TSARY) from July to September 2002. Candida albicans (69.1%) was the most common species, followed by Candida tropicalis (12.9%), Candida glabrata (8.3%), Candida parapsilosis (2.7%), Candida krusei (0.6%), and others (6.4%). To study the distribution and antifungal susceptibility of Candida species according to sources and patient ages, we have collected and analyzed the clinical data of 861 isolates. Of those 861 isolates, urine was the most common source (40%) followed by sputum (22.1%), blood (13.5%), central venous catheter (5.5%), wound (5.2%), and others (13.7%). With increasing age, we observed a significant increase in the percentage of isolates from urine (P=0.00005) and a parallel reduction from blood (P=0.009). As expected, more elder patients were hospitalized than younger ones (P=0.05). In total, 2.7% and 1.9% of isolates were resistant to amphotericin B and fluconazole, respectively. Antifungal susceptibilities of isolates from different age groups were not significantly different.