Fluconazole Resistance in Candida Species: Ten Years’ Experience at a Rural Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital in India

Although Candida albicans is considered as the most common cause of candidiasis, recent studies have documented increased isolation of non albicans Candida (NAC) species. Most of the published studies on candidiasis are focused towards a single clinical manifestation. Hence, the present study was designed at a rural tertiary care academic hospital of India with an aim to investigate the fluconazole resistance pattern in Candida spp. isolated from various clinical specimens. The average isolation rate of Candida spp. from clinical specimens was 12.7%. The isolation of NAC spp. from clinical specimen was significantly high (P value 0.0006). Fluconazole resistance was significantly high among NAC spp.compared to C. albicans (P value <0.0001). The incidence of fluconazole resistance was found to be increased every year. Fluconazole resistance was significantly high among Candida spp. isolated from disseminated infections in comparison to those obtained from mucocutaneous candidiasis (P value 0.03). Species identification once seldom performed in clinical microbiology services has now became important to de-escalate and focus the treatment effectively.