To treat or not to treat--critically ill patients with candiduria

Abstract

The prevalence of candiduria has increased in patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) and it has emerged as a common nosocomial infection among critically ill patients. Generally, urinary candidiasis should be regarded as a risk factor for invasive candidiasis, but not as a disease that needs to be treated on its own. However, decision-making in critically ill patients with candiduria may become a balancing act, because candiduria may be the only indication for invasive candidaemia with significant morbidity and mortality. Of further concern, there is a worldwide increase in the incidence of non-albicans spp. isolated from urine with highly variable susceptibility to fluconazole, which has been the first-line therapy for Candida infections during the last decades. This article discusses everyday problems with urinary candidiasis in interdisciplinary ICUs.