oropharyngeal candidiasis in children with lymphohematopoietic malignancies in mashhad, iran

background and purpose: over the past years, the role of fungi as a cause of nosocomial infections in hospitalized patients has been accentuated. candida species constitute an important group of fungi causing diseases in immunocompromised patients. oropharyngeal candidiasis continues to be a prevalent infection in immunodeficient patients. in this study, we aimed to determine the incidence of oropharyngeal candidiasis in children with lymphohematopoietic malignancies. materials and methods: in total, 102 patients with lymphohematopoietic malignancies and 50 healthy controls were examined in terms of candida infections via direct sampling of the oropharyngeal cavity. fresh smears were prepared with 10% potassium hydroxide and gram staining was carried out. subsequently, the obtained specimens were cultured on sabouraud dextrose agar for further analysis. results: the most common candida species were candida albicans (31%), other non-c. albicans species (14.7%), c. glabrata (6.8%), and c. krusei (0.98%) in the case group, while in the control group, other non-c. albicans species (10%) and c. albicans (8%) were the most common species. conclusion: in the present study, candida species were the most common fungal pathogens in pediatric cancer patients; therefore, efforts should be made to prevent fungemia and fungal pneumonia. also, non-c. albicans species must be considered as a new risk factor for pediatric cancer patients.