• P S McKinnon, D A Goff, J W Kern, J W Devlin, J F Barletta, S J Sierawski, A C Mosenthal, P Gore, A J Ambegaonkar, and T J Lubowski.
• Detroit Receiving Hospital, Detroit, MI, USA. pmckinno@dmc.org
• Arch Surg Chicago. 2001 Dec 1; 136 (12): 1401-8; discussion 1409.

HypothesisRisk factors for Candida infection in surgical intensive care units (SICUs) change over time. Risk factor progression may influence Candida colonization and infection.DesignMulticenter cohort survey.SettingThree urban teaching institutions.PatientsA total of 301 consecutively admitted patients in SICUs for 5 or more days.Main Outcome MeasuresAssessment of patients on SICU days 1, 3, 4, 6, and 8 and SICU discharge for risk factors, Candida colonization, and antifungal use. Candida colonization status was categorized as noncolonized (NC), locally colonized (LC) if 1 site was involved, and disseminated infection (DI) if 2 or more sites or candidemia were involved.ResultsThe most frequent risk factors in the 301 patients enrolled were presence of peripheral and central intravenous catheters, bladder catheters, mechanical ventilation, and lack of enteral or intravenous nutrition. Early risk factors included total parenteral nutrition or central catheter at SICU day 1 and previous SICU admissions or surgical procedures. Peak number of risk factors (mean +/- SD) were as follows: 7.2 +/- 2.6 in NC (n = 229), 9.2 +/- 2.3 in LC (n = 45), and 9.2 +/- 2.6 in DI (n = 27). These numbers were reached at day 8 in the NC and LC groups and day 4 in the DI group. The LC and DI groups had more risk factors on each SICU day than the NC group and longer median SICU length of stay (28 days in the DI group vs 11 and 19 days in the NC and LC groups, respectively). Antifungal therapy, while used most frequently in the DI group, was initiated later for this group than in NC and LC groups.ConclusionsRisk factors for Candida infection in SICU patients change over time. Patients with DI demonstrate a greater number of and more rapid increase in risk factors than patients in the LC and NC groups. Presence of early risk factors at the time of SICU admission, a high incidence of risk factors, or a rapid increase in risk factors should prompt clinicians to obtain surveillance fungal cultures and consider empirical antifungal therapy.

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