Declining incidence of candidemia and the shifting epidemiology of Candida resistance in two US metropolitan areas, 2008-2013: results from population-based surveillance

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 10; no. 3; p. e0120452
• Main Authors: Cleveland, Angela Ahlquist, Harrison, Lee H, Farley, Monica M, Hollick, Rosemary, Stein, Betsy, Chiller, Tom M, Lockhart, Shawn R, Park, Benjamin J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 30.03.2015; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antifungal agents; Antifungal Agents - therapeutic use; Bacterial infections; Baltimore - epidemiology; Candida; Candida - drug effects; Candida glabrata; Candidemia; Candidemia - drug therapy; Candidemia - epidemiology; Child; Child, Preschool; Comparative analysis; Disease control; Disease prevention; Drug resistance; Drug Resistance, Fungal - drug effects; Echinocandins; Epidemiology; Female; Fluconazole; Fungicides; Georgia - epidemiology; Health aspects; Health surveillance; Human subjects; Humans; Incidence; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infection; Infections; Male; Medical instruments; Medical laboratories; Medicine; Metropolitan areas; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Middle Aged; Multidrug resistance; Mutation; Population; Population Surveillance; Public health; Risk groups; Surveillance; Trends; Young Adult; Baltimore; Georgia; Atlanta Georgia; United States > US; Maryland; Baltimore Maryland
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0120452

Recent reports have demonstrated a decline in bacterial bloodstream infections (BSIs) following adherence to central line insertion practices; however, declines have been less evident for BSIs due to Candida species. We conducted active, population-based laboratory surveillance for candidemia in metropolitan Atlanta, GA and Baltimore, MD over a 5-year period. We calculated annual candidemia incidence and antifungal drug resistance rates. We identified 3,848 candidemia cases from 2008-2013. Compared with 2008, candidemia incidence per 100,000 person-years decreased significantly by 2013 in both locations (GA: 14.1 to 9.5, p<0.001; MD: 30.9 to 14.4, p<0.001). A total of 3,255 cases (85%) had a central venous catheter (CVC) in place within 2 days before the BSI culture date. In both locations, the number of CVC-associated cases declined (GA: 473 to 294; MD: 384 to 151). Candida albicans (CA, 36%) and Candida glabrata (CG, 27%) were the most common species recovered. In both locations, the proportion of cases with fluconazole resistance decreased (GA: 8.0% to 7.1%, -10%; MD: 6.6% to 4.9%, -25%), while the proportion of cases with an isolate resistant to an echinocandin increased (GA: 1.2% to 2.9%, +147%; MD: 2.0% to 3.5%, +77%). Most (74%) echinocandin-resistant isolates were CG; 17 (<1%) isolates were resistant to both drug categories (multidrug resistant [MDR], 16/17 were CG). The proportion of CG cases with MDR Candida increased from 1.8% to 2.6%. We observed a significant decline in the incidence of candidemia over a five-year period, and increases in echinocandin-resistant and MDR Candida. Efforts to strengthen infection control practices may be preventing candidemia among high-risk patients. Further surveillance for resistant Candida is warranted.