Seyed Amir Ghiasian
Mohammad Reza Aghamirian
Golam Reza Eshghi

Background: A broad variety of fungi, especially Candida species, are becoming increasingly common causes of urinary tract infections in hospital settings. Objectives: The current cross-sectional descriptive study aimed to determine the causative agents, risk factors and incidence rate of candiduria in critically ill patients, hospitalized in intensive care units (ICUs) of four Iranian hospitals. Patients and Methods: A total of ۱۵۵ children and adult patients, admitted to ICUs of the four university educational hospitals, who demonstrated Candida-positive urine cultures, were examined. Samples were processed via mycological procedures by direct microscopy and culture. Results: Candiduria was confirmed in ۵۰ (۳۲.۲۶ %) patients and Candida albicans was the most frequently isolated species representing ۶۰.۰% of isolates, followed by ۱۴.۰% C. glabrata, ۱۲.۰% C. parapsilosis, ۱۰.۰% C. krusei, and ۴.۰% C. tropicalis. Most patients were female (۵۸%) with a mean age of ۴۶.۷ years old. Generally, ۳۹.۷% and ۶۲% of adults and children showed candiduria, respectively. The commonest predisposing factors were antibiotic therapy (۹۸.۰%), urinary catheterization (۹۲.۰%), corticotherapy (۸۴.۰%), being female (۴۲.۶ %), use of feeding tube (۵۶%), and extended hospitalization, respectively. Conclusions: The high frequency of candiduria in ICU patients can be decreased by shortening the duration of urinary catheterization, avoiding extra antibiotics and corticosteroids, as well as controlling the predisposing factors and underlying conditions.