Mycoses
Sustained Clearance of Candida auris Colonisation After Hospital Discharge: A Community Follow-Up Cohort Study
By De-Jesus-Maria I, Melero-García M, Mayordomo JL and 5 others.
Abstract
Background
Candida auris (reclassified as Candidozyma auris) is an emerging multidrug-resistant yeast that readily spreads in healthcare settings. The duration of colonisation and the feasibility of sustained clearance after discharge remain uncertain.
Objectives
To estimate time to sustained clearance of C. auris colonisation after hospital discharge and to assess durability of sustained negativity.
Methods
We conducted a longitudinal observational cohort study in a tertiary-care hospital including patients with ≥ 1 C. auris-positive clinical or screening specimen during admission (2018-October 2023) who were discharged to the community. Community follow-up sampling for skin carriage was performed from December 2023 to July 2025 (≥ 3-month intervals). Follow-up samples underwent fungal culture with MALDI-TOF identification and RT-PCR; sampling episodes were classified as negative only when all collected sites were negative by both methods. Clearance was defined as two negative sampling episodes ≥ 7 days apart with no subsequent positives. Time to clearance was modelled using an interval-censored accelerated failure time (AFT) model assuming a lognormal distribution, reporting time ratios (TR).