Epidemiological and clinical approach to the study of candidiasis caused by Candida albicans in heroin addicts in the Paris region: analysis of 35 observations

Abstract

A study of 35 cases of deep-seated Candida albicans candidiasis, affecting heroin addicts in the Paris region, revealed that the lesions observed were mainly cutaneous (88 per cent) and ocular (65 per cent), along with a number of instances of osteoarticular and pleuropulmonary attacks. The clinical and epidemiological findings indicated the possibility that Candida albicans might be transmitted through the heroin. This paper also presents the diagnostic techniques, and the novelty of the clinical picture, in which cutaneous and ocular lesions are frequently associated (57 per cent).