Species-based comparison of disease severity and risk factors for disseminated Candida infections in pediatric patients

Abstract

Species-based comparison of disease severity and risk factors for disseminated Candida infections in pediatric patients John J Hawkshead III,1 Russell B Van Dyke,2 Susan E Hassig,3 Larry S Webber,4 Rodolfo E Begue5 1Merck & Co, CORE Hospital Specialty Group, Rahway, NJ, 2Department of Pediatrics, Tulane University School of Medicine, 3Department of Epidemiology, 4Department of Biostatistics, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, 5Department of Pediatrics, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA Background: Pediatric Candida infections are associated with worse clinical outcomes and increased costs. Yet, it is not definitively known if particular species are associated with more severe illness. Differential risk factor exposures among the species group may also exist. We aimed to determine whether certain Candida species are more strongly associated with worse outcomes, and whether certain risk factors more strongly predispose patients to infection with certain species. Methods: Microbiology lab records from patients seen from 2003 to 2010 at an urban children's hospital were reviewed for invasive or disseminated Candida infections. Data on measures of disease severity/outcome and risk factors were abstracted and analyzed to determine differences associated with various Candida species. Results: Exactly 106 cases of infection were analyzed. Non-albicans species were associated with a significantly longer length of stay postdiagnosis (P