1712. Candida auris: A Case Series at a Large Tertiary Care Medical System

Abstract

Background Candida Auris has become one of the most feared pathogens globally in a relatively short period of time and, despite increased awareness, its incidence continues to rise. Recently there has been growing concern regarding drug resistance, difficulty in identification, as well as problems with eradication.MethodsLoyola Medicine includes Loyola University Medical Center, a large tertiary care transplant center, and Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, a community-based medical center. Both hospitals have reported cases of Candida auris infection. We reviewed the microbiology laboratory data and clinical information of all positively identified cases over a 17-month period.Results Candida auris was isolated from 14 patients in cultures from blood, urine, wounds, and respiratory secretions. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS; Burker, Biotyper RUO) was used for identification in all of the cases and susceptibility testing was performed using microbroth dilution (Sensititre, YeastOne) for all isolates. 7/14 isolates (50%) were considered resistant to fluconazole; however, none were multi-drug resistant. All 14 isolates (100%) were considered susceptible to echinocandins. In addition, all patients were critically ill and had multiple comorbidities.Conclusion Candida auris is an emerging global health threat with increasing incidence of infection. Awareness of the pathogen, appropriate contact precautions, and laboratory methods of identification are necessary. Given increasing drug resistance, we recommend susceptibility testing on all isolates. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.