Iker Falces-Romero

Isolation of Rhodotorula mucilaginosa from blood cultures in a tertiary care hospital

Rhodotorula species have traditionally been considered as one of common non‐virulent environmental inhabitant. They have emerged as an opportunistic pathogen, particularly in immunocompromised hosts and most infections have been associated with intravenous catheters in these patients. We review the isolates in blood cultures of Rhodotorula mucilaginosa in our Hospital. We describe the demographic and clinical features of the cases and the antifungal susceptibility profiles of the isolates. Selected patients had an isolation of R. mucilaginosa in blood cultures in our tertiary care Hospital. All data were collected retrospectively from clinical records during 5 years. We report 8 isolates in blood, two of them were considered contaminants. Immunosuppression, surgery, previous antibiotic therapy were common clinical features. For all the isolates, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were high for echinocandins and azoles and low for amphotericin B and 5‐flucytosine. One strain showed atypical susceptibility profile. Rhodotorula mucilaginosa may be present on the skin and blood cultures can be contaminated. Fungaemia due to R. mucilaginosa is a rare clinical entity which requires risk factors but clinically relevant because of the multiresistant profile. Rhodotorula mucilaginosa shows high MIC values for azoles and echinocandins, therefore amphotericin B and flucytosine must be administered as antifungal therapy.

First isolation of Conidiobolus sp. in a respiratory sample of a patient in Europe

Abstract We report the first case in Europe of the isolation of Conidiobolus sp. in a respiratory sample of a Spanish patient who never travelled to tropical areas.

T2Candida® to guide antifungal and lengh of treatment of candidemia in a pediatric multivisceral transplant recipient

A case of 1-year- old male multivisceral transplant recipient with candidemia diagnosed by the T2Candida® test is presented. Optimal management of the candidemia complemented the treatment of the global clinical episode. Duration of treatment might be established much more precisely with the T2Candida® test than with blood cultures.

Evaluation of two real time PCR assays for the detection of bacterial DNA in amniotic fluid

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to evaluate two non-commercial Real-Time PCR assays for the detection of microorganisms in amniotic fluid followed by identification by pyrosequencing. METHODS We collected 126 amniotic fluids from 2010 to 2015 for the evaluation of two Real-Time PCR assays for detection of bacterial DNA in amniotic fluid (16S Universal PCR and Ureaplasma spp. specific PCR). The method was developed in the Department of Microbiology of the University Hospital La Paz. RESULTS Thirty-seven samples (29.3%) were positive by PCR/pyrosequencing and/or culture, 4 of them were mixed cultures with Ureaplasma urealyticum. The Universal 16S Real-Time PCR was compared with the standard culture (81.8% sensitivity, 97.4% specificity, 75% positive predictive value, 98% negative predictive value). The Ureaplasma spp. specific Real-Time PCR was compared with the Ureaplasma/Mycoplasma specific culture (92.3% sensitivity, 89.4% specificity, 50% positive predictive value, 99% negative predictive value) with statistically significant difference (p=0.005). CONCLUSIONS Ureaplasma spp. PCR shows a rapid response time (5h from DNA extraction until pyrosequencing) when comparing with culture (48h). So, the response time of bacteriological diagnosis in suspected chorioamnionitis is reduced.