Candiduria

Abstract

Candiduria is a common finding. Yeasts can be detected in urine that is contaminated during collection, in patients who have bladder colonization, and in patients who have upper urinary tract infection that developed either from retrograde spread from the bladder or hematogenous spread from a distant source. Most patients with candiduria are asymptomatic. The rate of development of complications is not known but appears to be low; candidemia rarely results from asymptomatic candiduria unless obstruction is present or instrumentation of the urinary tract is done. Unfortunately, there are no established diagnostic tests that reliably distinguish infection from colonization. Guidelines for the treatment of candiduria, based almost entirely on anecdotal reports and expert opinions, rather than controlled clinical trials, have been suggested by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Until reliable methods to distinguish infection from colonization are developed, further treatment trials are unlikely to provide information to guide the clinician in the treatment of candiduria.