The yeast species causing fungemia at a university hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during a 10-year period.

This study is a retrospective investigation to determine the species of yeasts causing fungemia in a university hospital in Saudi Arabia during the years 1991-2000. A total of 189 episodes of fungemia were encountered, of which 121 (64%) occurred during 1991-1995, whereas only 68 cases (36%) were found between 1996 and 2000. Overall, 50.3% episodes were due to Candida albicans including five episodes of C. dubliniensis, followed by C. tropicalis (27%), C. parapsilosis (7.9%), C. glabrata (7.4%), C. krusei (3.2%), C. famata (1.0%); 3.2% were due to other species, namely Blastoschizomyces capitatus, Hansenula anomala, Rhodotorula rubra, and Trichosporon beigelii. The percentage of episodes of fungemia caused by C. albicans ranged from 36.4% in 1991 to 71.4% in 2000, revealing an increase in recent years. The incidence of non-C. albicans fungemia decreased from 63 (33.3%) during the first 5 years (1991-1995) to 31 (16.4%) episodes during the second 5 years. Moreover, no fungemia due to C. glabrata and C. krusei were observed during the last 3 years. Overall, during the years of the study, a decreasing incidence of yeast fungemia was observed. Fungemia occurred more frequently in patients with leukemia (24%), prematurity (16%), postsurgery (10.6%), and lymphoma (9.5%). Patients with respiratory infections and preterm infants more often had C. albicans fungemia, whereas C. tropicalis predominated in patients with hepatic disorders and leukemia. The study reports for the first time the involvement of C. dubliniensis in yeast fungemia occurring in Saudi Arabia.