P036 Epidemiology and antifungal susceptibility profile of infections caused by Fusarium species

: Poster session 1, September 21, 2022, 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM AIM: This study was performed to evaluate the clinical, epidemiological, and antifungal susceptibility profile of Fusarium species from clinical cases. METHODS: This study was conducted over a period of 14 years in a tertiary hospital in North India, 84 clinical isolates of Fusarium species isolated from various clinical samples like corneal scrapings, nail, tissue, and blood. The isolates were characterized phenotypically, and antifungal susceptibility testing was performed by broth microdilution method as per document CLSI M38-A3. RESULTS: On phenotypic identification, 69.04% were Fusarium solani sensu stricto, followed by Fusarium oxysporum (22.61%), Fusarium dimerum (8.33%) and Fusarium incarnatum (1.19%). The infection spectrum of Fusarium spp. was onychomycosis (54.76%), keratomycosis (19.04%), fusariosis (15.47%), white grain mycetoma (3.57%), burn wound infection (3.57%), hyalohyphomycosis (3.57%). In all 92.85% isolates were susceptible to amphotericin B (0.125-1 μg/ml). For voriconazole, 70.23% strains had MIC ranging between 0.5-1 μg/ml, while 29.76% had MIC >4 μg/ml. High MICs were found to itraconazole (>16 μg/ml), caspofungin (>16 μg/ml) and fluconazole (>64 μg/ml). CONCLUSION: Fusarium solani is the most common species isolated. Fusarium spp. causes a broad spectrum of infections in humans including superficial, locally invasive, and disseminated infections. The clinical form of Fusarium species infections depends largely on the immune status of the host and the portal of entry of pathogen. Antifungal susceptibility testing is recommended owing to the variable susceptibility pattern of Fusarium spp. Large-scale studies are required to know the exact epidemiological, clinical factors, and antifungal susceptibility patterns of Fusarium infections.