Arteriovenous graft infection caused by Candida glabrata: A case report and literature review

The infection rate of arteriovenous (AV) grafts is high, but fungal etiology is rare. Only five cases of graft infection due to Candida albicans (C. albicans) or C. tropicalis have been described in the literature. Herein, we report the first case of AV graft infection caused by C. glabrata. A 60-year-old woman on maintenance hemodialysis for end-stage renal disease was admitted because of intermittent fever, for 10 days. Upon physical examination, tenderness over the AV graft site was noticed. Blood culture yielded C. glabrata and her clinical symptoms improved after she was treated with micafungin for 1 month. However, C. glabrata candidemia reoccurred 5 weeks later. Cure was achieved after removal of the AV graft and anidulafungin treatment. Pus was observed in the removed graft, from which C. glabrata was isolated. The outcome of our case and patients from the literature review suggest that removal of the infected graft is important for treatment success of AV graft Candida infection. Copyright (C) 2013, Taiwan Society of Microbiology. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC. All rights reserved.