Candida Isolates from Neonates: Frequency of Misidentification and Reduced Fluconazole Susceptibility

Systemic candidiasis affects 1.6 to 4.5% of very low birth weight (≤1,500 g) infants. A specimen archive of Candida strains from intensive care nurseries was created; it currently houses 98 isolates from 17 institutions. Eight isolates (8.2%) were misidentified at the referring institution. The MICs of fluconazole for seven isolates (7.1%, all non-C. albicans species, one misidentified initially) were >8 μg/ml.