Objective:

To determine the risk factors of disseminated infection in hospitalized children with candidemia.

Materials and methods:

A study was conducted in a cohort of children hospitalized with systemic candidiasis. The cohort was defined by all the patients with positive blood cultures for the species of Candida sp. at the Institute of Tropical Medicine. The cases were patients with clinical, microbiological or radiographic evidence of systemic candidiasis. Controls were patients with no evidence of systemic candidiasis.

Results:

In the total of 25 children with candiermia, the mean age was 4.7 years. 52% was Candida albicans, the incidence increased in the last 5 years, children under 1 year are the most affected.

In addition to blood culture, the predominant site of isolation was the catheter (72%), fever, hypotension, and sensory impairment are the predominant clinical findings. 56% of the patients were treated with fluconazole (14/25) and the rest of the patients treated with Amphotericin B. The risk factors found were the presence of a catheter and a prolonged stay in the ICU (56% and 36% respectively).

Conclusions:

The use of catheter and prolonged stay in ICU more than three days were risk factors for disseminated candidiasis in children with candidemia.

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