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. 2013 Aug 31;6(8):387-91.
doi: 10.4066/AMJ.2013.1709. eCollection 2013.

Prevalence of Candida co-infection in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis

Arunava Kali  1 , Mv Pravin Charles, Mariya Joseph Noyal, Umadevi Sivaraman, Shailesh Kumar, Joshy M Easow
Affiliations

Prevalence of Candida co-infection in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis

Arunava Kali et al. Australas Med J. .

Abstract

Background: Candida species are emerging as a potentially pathogenic fungus in patients with broncho-pulmonary diseases. The synergistic growth promoting association of Candida and Mycobacterium tuberculosis has raised increased concern for studying the various Candida spp . and its significance in pulmonary tuberculosis patients during current years.

Aims: This study was undertaken with the objective of discovering the prevalence of co-infection caused by different Candida species in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.

Method: A total of 75 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis diagnosed by sputum Ziehl-Neelsen staining were included in the study. Candida co-infection was confirmed using the Kahanpaa et al. criteria. Candida species were identified using gram stain morphology, germ tube formation, morphology on cornmeal agar with Tween-80, sugar fermentation tests and HiCrome Candida Agar.

Results: Candida co-infection was observed in 30 (40%) of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Candida albicans was the most common isolate observed in 50% of the patients with co-infection, followed by C. tropicalis (20%) and C. glabrata (20%). Candida co-infection was found in 62.5% of female patients, while it was observed in only 29.4% of the male patients (P value 0.0133). Mean ± SD age of the patients with C. glabrata infection was 65.83 ± 3.19, while the mean ± SD age of the patients with other Candida infections was 43.25 ± 20.44 (P value 0.0138).

Conclusion: Many patients with pulmonary tuberculosis have co-infection with Candida spp. The prevalence of non-albicans Candida species is increasing and may be associated with inadequate response to anti-tubercular drugs. C. glabrata infection has a strong association with old age.

Keywords: C. glabrata; Candida co-infection; prevalence; tuberculosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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