Candida Infections in Critically Ill Trauma Patients

Abstract

THE CRITICALLY ill injured patient is immunosuppressed, invasively monitored, and exposed to microbial pathogens at the time of injury and while residing in the intensive care unit (ICU). The incidence of nosocomial infections by Candida species has surged over the past decade, from the eighth to the fourth most common cause of nosocomial bloodstream infection¹ in the general hospital population. In surgical patients, the incidence of Candida infections has increased from 2.5 to 5.6 per 1000 discharges, with mortality rates of 30% to 75%.^2-4 The mortality rate due to candidemia is 38%, with almost half of the deaths occuring in the first week after diagnosis.⁵