Objective: This study sought to examine the frequency of isolation and azole susceptibility patterns of clinical Candida albicans isolates from a tertiary hospital in Georgetown, Guyana during a three-month period.
Methods: Isolation and germ-tube identification of Candida sp were done by the hospital Microbiology Department. Further identification was made by assessing the colour and morphology of Candida isolates subcultured from SDA onto HardyCHROM™ Candida. Antifungal susceptibility testing and results interpretation were performed in accordance with the CLSI M44-A2 guidelines.
Results: sixty-two non-duplicate isolates of Candida were analysed from multiple patient sources. The majority of these isolates were Candida albicans (56.5%), while the remainder (43.5%%) were non-C albicans species of which C glabrata (32.3%) and C krusei (8.1%) were the predominant species. 28.6% of the C albicans isolates were resistant to fluconazole and voriconazole, respectively, while 40% of the isolates were resistant to itraconazole.
Conclusion: Azole resistance is a common phenomenon among C albicans isolates within the setting of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corp (GPHC).
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