MY1704-1

Blood culture: Candida lusitaniae – Shipped April 03, 2017

HISTORY

This challenge was sent as a simulated blood culture obtained from a patient with long-term corticosteroid therapy. Laboratories were expected to isolate and identify Candida lusitaniae and perform susceptibility testing within their capabilities or refer the isolate for testing.

MAIN EDUCATIONAL POINTS from MY1704-1

• Species-level identification of significant yeast isolates is important for appropriate antifungal therapy, since opportunistic yeasts vary greatly in their susceptibilities to current antifungal agents.
• A review of C. lusitaniae infections revealed that fungemia was the most common type of infection, occurring in 80% of cases.

Full critique (PDF)