Abstract
Background: The clinical relevance of single or repeated episodes of Candida spp. in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in adult patients is debatable.Methods: Forty-two patients with positive Candida episodes in CSF were enrolled in this retrospective study.Results: A total of 42.9% (18/42) were determined to have probable Candida meningitis (PCM). Neurosurgery [odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval), OR: 14.4 (1.6–126.1), P = 0.004], lumbar drainage [OR: 5.8 (1.5–23.3), P = 0.009], VP shunt [(OR: 5.6 (1.2–25.8), P = 0.020)], external ventricular drainage [OR: 4.7 (1.3–17.7), P = 0.018], CRP ≥ 10.0 mg/L [OR: 4.9 (1.3–18.1), P = 0.034], and postsurgical broad-spectrum antibiotics [OR: 9.5 (1.8–50.5), P = 0.004] were risk factors associated with PCM. A single CSF Candida episode for the diagnosis of PCM had 7.7% (0.4–37.9%) sensitivity and 20.7% (8.7–40.3%) specificity, whereas repeated episodes of Candida had 66.7% (41.2–85.6%) sensitivity and 95.8% (76.9–99.8%) specificity. No significant difference was found in radiological imaging or CSF profiles between PCM and non-PCM patients. A total of 37.5% (9/24) of patients without PCM received empirical antifungal treatment, and 88.9% (16/18) of patients with PCM received preemptive antifungal treatment. PCM patients had hospitalized mortality rates of 50.0% (9/18). The odds ratio of mortality was 23.0 (2.5–208.6) for PCM patients compared with non-PCM patients (P = 0.001).Conclusion: Both single and repeated positive CSF samples have low validity for the diagnosis of PCM, suggesting that novel strategies for diagnosis algorithms of PCM are urgently needed. Empirical antifungal treatment should be started immediately for suspicious patients with risk factors.
Highlights
Candida meningitis (C. meningitis) is rare, but severe cases have been encountered in clinical practice
These data suggested that a single positive cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) sample drawn through an indwelling device is insufficient for a reliable diagnosis in patients receiving neurosurgery, and repeated positive CSF samples from drainage devices might be necessary for diagnosing C. meningitis
42 (42.9%) patients were considered to have probable C. meningitis (PCM), including one non-neurosurgical patient (42) and 17 neurosurgical patients. Of those neurosurgical patients with PCM, 17.6% (3/17) of the patients (9, 13, and 31) had positive CSF samples obtained both from lumbar puncture and indwelling drain devices, 29.4% (5/17) had positive CSF samples obtained from lumbar puncture, and 52.9% (9/17) had positive CSF samples obtained from indwelling drain devices
Summary
A total of 42.9% (18/42) were determined to have probable Candida meningitis (PCM). A single CSF Candida episode for the diagnosis of PCM had 7.7% (0.4–37.9%) sensitivity and 20.7% (8.7–40.3%) specificity, whereas repeated episodes of Candida had 66.7% (41.2–85.6%) sensitivity and 95.8% (76.9–99.8%) specificity. No significant difference was found in radiological imaging or CSF profiles between PCM and nonPCM patients. A total of 37.5% (9/24) of patients without PCM received empirical antifungal treatment, and 88.9% (16/18) of patients with PCM received preemptive antifungal treatment. PCM patients had hospitalized mortality rates of 50.0% (9/18). The odds ratio of mortality was 23.0 (2.5–208.6) for PCM patients compared with non-PCM patients (P = 0.001)
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