Candida glabrataOropharyngeal Candidiasis in Patients Receiving Radiation Treatment for Head and Neck Cancer

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Abstract
Candida glabratacolonization is common in patients receiving radiation treatment for head and neck cancer, but to our knowledge has never been described as the infecting organism with oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC). This study presents the first three patients described withC.glabrataOPC in this patient population. Patient 1 developedC.glabrataOPC and required fluconazole, 800 mg/day, for clinical resolution. Antifungal susceptibility testing revealed a MIC of fluconazole of >64 μg/ml. Elapsed time from initial culturing to treatment decision was 7 days. Patients 2 and 3 developedC.glabrataOPC. They were patients in a study evaluating OPC infections, and cultures were taken immediately. CHROMagarCandidaplates with 0, 8, and 16 μg of fluconazole/ml were employed for these cultures. Lavender colonies, consistent withC.glabrata, grew on the 0- and 8-μg plates but not on the 16-μg plate from patient 2 and grew on all three plates from patient 3. Based on these data, a fluconazole dose of 200 mg/day was chosen for patient 2 and a dose of 400 mg/day was chosen for patient 3, with clinical resolution in both. Elapsed time from initial culturing to treatment decision was 2 days.C.glabratadoes cause OPC in head and neck radiation treatment patients, and the use of fluconazole-impregnated chromogenic agar may significantly reduce treatment decision time compared to that with conventional culturing and antifungal susceptibility testing.
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