Fluconazole and voriconazole susceptibility in oral colonization isolates of Candida spp. in HIV patients

The identification of Candida species and their antifungal susceptibility is important for the treatment of infected patients. The aim was to determine the susceptibility to fluconazole and voriconazole in isolates from oral colonization of Candida spp. in HIV patients. From the 135 patients studied, 33.3% were females and 66.7% males, with a mean age of 36.6 years and 83.7% of them were under treatment. The identification of the specie was performed by the API20CAUX (R) test and the antifungal susceptibility was determined by the disc diffusion test. Strains of C. parapsilosis and C. krusei were used as quality controls. The Candida species identificated were: C. parapsilosis complex 52%, C. albicans complex 36% and C. famata 12%. 60% of the isolates were susceptible to fluconazole and 40% were dose-dependent. All were susceptible to voriconazole. In this study, none of the patients had oropharyngeal candidiasis however, 18.5% had Candida spp. colonization, this percentage being below other studies in HIV carriers. We found a high proportion of nonalbicans species but no difference in the CD4+ counts between patients.