Clinical Outcomes of Patients Treated for <i>Candida auris</i> Infections in a Multisite Health System, Illinois, USA
Kellie Arensman, Jessica L. Miller, Anthony Chiang, Nathan Mai, Joseph Levato, Erik LaChance, Morgan Anderson, Maya Beganovic, Jennifer Dela‐Pena
Abstract
C andida auris is an emerging, multidrug-resistant, healthcare-associated fungal pathogen that was first reported in Japan in 2009 and has now been isolated on 6 continents (1-9). C. auris has been identified as the causative pathogen in various invasive fungal infections, including bloodstream infections (2,4), and is associated with outbreaks across healthcare settings (6,10). Risk factors for C. auris infection are similar to other Candida infections including prolonged hospitalization, abdominal surgery, diabetes mellitus, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, use of central venous and urinary catheters, immunocompromising conditions, chronic kidney disease, and exposure to broad-spectrum antibiotic and antifungal agents (10-13). Investigations in the Chicago, Illinois, USA, area have found a high prevalence of C. auris colonization at ventilator-capable skilled nursing facilities (14) and have shown higher rates of C. auris colonization among patients who are mechanically ventilated, have a gastrostomy tube, or have a urinary catheter (15). Reported mortality rates attributable to invasive C. auris infection range from 30% to 59% globally (13,16) and from 22% to 57% in the United States