Experience of Treating Candida auris Cases at a General Hospital in Qatar

Background: So far, there have been no studies on Candida auris in Qatar. We describe the clinical spectrum and outcome of C. auris infection in patients admitted to a general hospital in Qatar. Methods: We conducted this descriptive observational study in a general hospital in Qatar. We have included all patients with C. auris infection and colonization admitted to a general hospital from December 2018 to August 2019. Results: We identified 13 patients with confirmed C. auris infection or colonization, of whom 5 cases represented an actual C. auris infection, while the remaining 8 cases were considered colonization. The mean age of the patients with infection was 76.6 years (SD, ±8.4), while the mean age of the patients with colonization was 66.4 years (SD, ±24.7). Among the individuals clinically infected with C. auris, 2 had urinary tract infections, 1 had candidemia, 1 acquired a soft-tissue infection, and 1 had a lower respiratory tract infection. All strains of C. auris were susceptible to echinocandins, flucytosine, and posaconazole while resistant to fluconazole and amphotericin B. Of the patients with C. auris infection who received systemic antifungal therapy, 3 (60%) died during antifungal therapy. Conclusions: Our study showed that C. auris can cause a wide variety of invasive infections, including bloodstream infection, urinary tract infection, skin infection, and lower respiratory tract infections, especially in critically ill patients. In addition, our isolates showed resistance to the most common antifungal agents such as fluconazole and amphotericin B. Funding: No Disclosures: None