Bloodstream infection by candida in patients with hematologic neoplasia: polyphasic taxonomy and antifungal susceptibility / Infecção sanguínea por candida em pacientes com neoplasia hematológica: taxonomia polifásica e suscetibilidade antifúngica

Bloodstream infection (BSI) by species of Candida has been identified as an important cause of death in patients with neutropenia who undergo chemotherapy for the treatment of hematologic malignancies This study aimed to verify the occurrence of bloodstream infections by Candida species in patients admitted to the haematology-oncology service of a public hospital specialized in the treatment of cancer in Northeast Brazil. A total of 105 clinical samples from 62 patients with haematological malignancies were analyzed at the Laboratory of Medical Mycology at the Federal University of Pernambuco. Only 7 of 105 individuals were in the ICU environment. The mycological diagnosis was performed through automation (BACTEC 9120 / PHOENIX™), proteomic identification (MALDI-TOF MS) and molecular analysis (PCR). The antifungal susceptibility test followed the bloodstream infection recommendations of Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute. Among the samples studied, nine strains (8,57%) were of the genus Candida, being six C. tropicalis and three C. albicans. The isolates were completely susceptible to the antifungal agents tested. Deaths occurred in 66,6% of the cases. Patients with hematologic malignancies hospitalized in intensive care and the state of septic shock present a higher risk of occurrence of BSI by Candida and death by this opportunistic pathogen.