P050 Candida auris and non- auris candidemia in adult patients in a tertiary care set-up, New Delhi, India

POSTER SESSION 1, SEPTEMBER 21, 2022, 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM: OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the species distribution, compare Candida auris and non-C. auris candidemia risk factors and antifungal susceptibility pattern of candidemia cases in adult patients at a tertiary care hospital, New Delhi, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Candida species identification was performed by phenotypic methods, VITEK (Biomerieux, France), and DNA sequencing (PGIMER, Chandigarh). The antifungal susceptibility was performed by broth microdilution method as per CLSI M27-A4 guidelines 2017. RESULTS: Out of 1274 blood samples, 70 samples (5.5%) yielded the growth of Candida species. There was a predominance of NAC spp. over C. albicans in candidemia patients. C. auris (12.85%, 9/70) and non-auris candidemia (87.14%, 61/70) was isolated in this study. In non-auris candidemia, C. tropicalis (28.57%, 20/70) was the predominant Candida species followed by C. parapsilosis (22.85%, 16/70), C. glabrata (14.28%, 10/70). Rare species among NAC spp. included C. mesorugosa, C. lusitaniae, C. krusei and C. haemulonii were isolated. The most common predisposing factor for C. auris and non-auris candidemia was urinary catheter (72.85%, 51/70) followed by an increased period of hospitalization (42.85%, 30/70), diabetes mellitus (21.5%, 15/70), etc. The significantly associated risk factor associated with C. auris was diabetes mellitus (P = .02). The overall resistance was 22.57% to all antifungal drugs. The multidrug resistance (MDR) was noted in 5.71% of isolates. CONCLUSIONS: Early identification of risk factors, Candida speciation, and timely management are crucial for the outcome of candidemia cases. Non-albicans species were predominant over C. albicans depicting the change in the epidemiology and emergence of MDR Candida spp. like C. auris, C. glabrata, C. mesorugosa, C. lusitaniae, and Pichia kudriavzevii (C. kruseii). This warrants routine antifungal susceptibility testing (AFST) and close monitoring. The knowledge of local epidemiological profiles of Candida spp., accurate species identification, and their antifungal susceptibility is crucial for overall patient management.