Phenotypic Characterisation Of Candida Species From Various Clinical Sample Obtained In A Tertiary Care Centre In Chengalpattu District

Background - Candida albicans is one of the most frequently isolated yeast in laboratories. Candida species have emerged as significant opportunistic fungal pathogens and the conventional methods of yeast identification are reported to be cumbersome with delayed diagnosis and initiation of treatment. Thus rapid identification and speciation of Candida species is essential in clinical laboratories. Materials and methods - the present study was conducted in the Department of Microbiology, at Shri Sathya Sai Medical College & Research Institute from January 2024 to December 2024. A total of 84 Candida isolates that were cultured from various clinical samples were included in this study. Identification and speciation of Candida isolates were done as per the standard Microbiological procedures. Results - Most of the Candida species was isolated from female patients (68%) and 32% were male patients. The most common age group affected by candidiasis was 21-40 years (n=41/49%) followed by 41-60 years (n=28/33.3%). Among all these specimens, urine culture yielded more number of Candida isolates (n=41/48.8%) followed by sputum (n=15/17.9%), pus (n=12/14.3%) and high vaginal swab (6/7%). Out of 84 isolates, (n=49/58.3%) were C. albicans and rest of the isolates were non-albicans Candida (n=35/41.7%). Among 35 non-albicans Candida, 14 were Candida tropicalis (16.7%), 12 were Candida parapsilosis (14.3%), 7 were Candida glabrata (8.3%) and 2 were Candida krusei (2.4%). Conclusion - C. albicans is still the most significant clinically but other non albicans are also emerging significant pathogens and warrant routine discrimination in clinical laboratories.