BACKGROUND Recovery of Candida from the respiratory tract of a critically ill patient receiving mechanical ventilation (MV) usually indicates colonization rather than infection of the respiratory tract. However, interactions between Candida and bacteria, particularly Pseudomonas, have been reported. Thus, Candida colonization of the respiratory tract may predispose to bacterial ventilator-assoc...

Candidiasis is a common opportunistic oral Candida infection that develops in the presence of one of several predisposing conditions [1,2]. The term Candida originates from the Latin word candid, meaning white. The spores of Candida are a commensal, harmless form of a dimorphic fungus that becomes invasive and pathogenic pseudohyphae when there is a disturbance in the balance of flora or in deb...

Objective(s) Shark Liver Oil (SLO) is an immunomodulator. Macrophages play a key role in host defense against pathogens like fungi. Candida albicans have mechanisms to escape immune system. We determined the effect of killed-Candida on the in vitro viability of macrophages and the effect of SLO on augmentation of this potency. Materials and Methods Peritoneal macrophages were separated and c...

The growing number of fungal infections, coupled with emerging resistance to classical antifungal agents, has led to the development of new agents, among them voriconazole. Susceptibility to voriconazole was tested by using two microdilution techniques: the reference method described in National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards document M27-A2 and a colorimetric method, Sensititre Ye...

The new colorimetric Vitek 2 YST card was evaluated for identification of yeasts (136 strains) with respect to the influence of different source media. The Vitek 2 YST card achieved satisfactory results for all yeast species tested, with the exception of Candida guilliermondii, Candida norvegensis, Candida parapsilosis, Candida rugosa, and Candida tropicalis. After simple additional tests, 93.7...

The effect of gentian violet against Candida albicans and non-Candida albicans biofilms formed on polymethylmethacrylate strips was evaluated using a dry weight assay and confocal laser scanning microscopy. The ability of gentian violet to inhibit Candida albicans germination was also assessed. Gentian violet activity against Candida biofilms was demonstrated by a reduction in dry weight, disru...

We report on the isolation of Candida nivariensis from a renal transplant patient with persistent candiduria. Biochemical profiling misidentified isolates as Candida glabrata (3/5) and Candida inconspicua (2/5). All isolates produced white colonies on CHROMagar(™) Candida medium. Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) ribosomal gene sequence analysis and MALDI-TOF-MS analysis (Bruker Biotyper(™) 2.0...