Identification of Different Fungal Infections in Intensive Care Units in Al-Zahraa University Hospital

Background: Invasive fungal infections are frequent and associated with morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. Early recognition, diagnosis, and treatment decrease the magnitude of fungal infections. Aim of the work: To identify different types of fungal infection among patients admitted to the ICU in Al-Zahraa University Hospital using different laboratory investigation techniques and to detect risk factors that increase the rate of fungal infection. Patients and Methods: The study was conducted on 88 fungal isolates recovered from 280 different clinical specimens of patients who were referred to the Microbiology Laboratory between September 2022 and March 2023. Results: Fungal infection was predominant in patients above 50 years old. Regarding risk factors, (98.9%) of the patients were on broad-spectrum antibiotics, and (93.2%) of them had bacterial co-infection. Among 88 fungal isolates, yeasts were 75 isolates (85.2%), and molds were 13 isolates (14.8%) by growth on SDA and Gram stain. By the VITEK 2 compact automated system, Candida albicans (26.7%) was the most predominant type, followed by Candida glabrata (18.7%). By using the germ tube test, (36.0%) were Candida albicans, and (64.0%) were Candida nonalbicans. By using HiCrome™ Candida Differential media, Candida albicans (26.7%) was the most predominant type, followed by Candida glabrata (16%). By lactophenol cotton blue stain for mold identification, Aspergillus fumigatus (53.8%) was the most predominant type, followed by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus niger. Conclusion: A high frequency of invasive fungal infections, including invasive candidiasis and Aspergillosis, was observed in ICU patients.