GERMS
Three Years of Epidemiological Surveillance of Candida in a Romanian Pulmonology Hospital Reveal an Increase in Fluconazole-Resistant Non-Albicans Species: A One-Centre Retrospective Study
By Mădălina Preda, Mihaela Corina Radu, Oana Popescu and 8 others.
Abstract
Background
Candida species are among the most frequently isolated fungi from respiratory specimens in hospitalised patients, yet the clinical significance of their presence—infection versus colonisation, treatment versus observation—remains an unresolved challenge in clinical microbiology. Data from dedicated pulmonology centres in Eastern Europe are scarce. This study aimed to characterise the three-year epidemiology, species distribution, temporal trends, colony-load profiles, and longitudinal mycological trajectories of fungal respiratory isolates at a Romanian tertiary pulmonology hospital.
Methods
We retrospectively analysed 1000 microbiological records from bronchial aspirates and other respiratory specimens collected between January 2022 and December 2024. Variables included patient demographics, clinical ward, primary diagnosis, fungal species, and semi-quantitative colony counts. Patients with multiple records were identified and analysed as a longitudinal sub-cohort.