The Significance of Candidemia

Excerpt

Members of the genus Candida are common saprophytes on the mucous membranes and in the gastrointestinal tract of man (1, 2). The ability of these microorganisms to emerge as clinically significant pathogens has been the subject of recent attention (3-5). Although there is general agreement that the increasing prevalence of Candida species as opportunistic invaders began with the use of modern chemotherapy, the precise determinants of the altered pathogenicity of Candida in the human host are not clear. Such diverse factors as antibiotic therapy (6, 7), adrenocortical steroids (8), prolonged intravenous therapy, particularly using indwelling venous catheters (9, 10), glucose