[Candida albicans arthritis in an infant]

[The Spanish Society of Paediatric Infectious Diseases (SEIP) recommendations on the diagnosis and management of invasive candidiasis]

Candida yeasts are ubiquitous commensals, which can cause opportunistic infection in any location of the body. The source of infection may be both endogenous and exogenous. Invasive candidiasis encompasses different entities ranging from invasive candidiasis to disseminated multiorgan infection. Invasive candidiasis is the third leading cause of nosocomial bloodstream infection and the fourth of all nosocomial infections. It is also the most common invasive fungal infection in non-neutropenic critically ill patients, with a remarkable increase in the last 20 years owing to the increased survival of these patients and to more complex diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical procedures. Its incidence in infants, according to recent reviews, stands at 38.8 cases/100,000 children younger than 1 year. Candida albicans remains the most frequent isolate in invasive infections, although infections caused by other species have risen in the last years, such as C. kruzsei, C. glabrata and C. parapsilosis; the latter causing invasive candidiasis mainly associated with central venous catheter management, especially in neonatal units. The overall mortality of invasive candidiasis is high, with 30-day mortality reaching 20-44% in some series involving paediatric patients. This report provides an update on incidence, epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment and outcome of invasive infection by Candida spp. in the paediatric patient.