Clinical Outcomes in Candidemia Patients Based on in Vitro Susceptibility
Clinical Outcomes in Candidemia Patients Based on in Vitro Susceptibility
Susceptibility testing is commonly employed in patients with bacterial infections in order to
 guide rational use of antibiotics; however, the use of antifungal susceptibility testing is
 limited due to lack of availability, costs, and delays in receiving results. The goals of
 antifungal susceptibility testing should mirror those of antibacterial susceptibility
 testing: to predict clinical response or failure. Additionally, susceptibility reports should
 be used as a guide for physicians when transitioning patients from parenteral to oral
 antifungal agents. Currently, it is unknown whether antifungal susceptibility testing impacts
 treatment decisions in hospitals that routinely perform Candida susceptibility testing. The
 purpose of this study is to evaluate the changes in antifungal treatment based on in vitro
 susceptibility reports and how these decisions affect mortality, recurrence of infection, and
 length of hospital stay in candidemia patients.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Hospitalized patients with bloodstream infections due to Candida species

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Patients will be excluded from this study if their medical charts contain incomplete
 outcome or susceptibility data. Patients treated empirically or definitively with
 amphotericin-based products will also be excluded