In vitro susceptibility of Candida albicans clinical isolates to eight antifungal agents in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso).

INTRODUCTION: In recent years, the infection Candida albicans infection worldwide has risen, and the incidence of resistance to traditional antifungal therapies is also increasing. The aim of this study was to evaluate in vitro susceptibility of C. albicans clinical isolates to eight antifungal agents in Ouagadougou.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2013 to December 2015 at Yalgado Ouédraogo University Teaching Hospital. Two hundred seven strains have been isolated from 347 symptomatic patients received in different clinical services. Samples were cultured on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar supplemented with Cloramphenicol. Isolates were diagnosed as C. albicans using germ tube test, chlamydospore formation on Corn Meal Agar, and Api-Candida test (Biomérieux). Antifungal susceptibility testing was performed by disk diffusion method and isolates classified as susceptible, susceptible dose-dependent and resistant.

RESULTS: Three hundred forty-seven (347) patients are included in this study. Two hundred and six (206) out of 347 collected samples (59.36%) were found positive for C. albicans. The strains were mostly isolated from vulvovaginal (49%) and oral infections (40.3%). The highest resistance rates of azoles were obtained with fluconazole (66.5%), itraconazole (52.3%) and ketoconazole (22.9%) when all clinical isolates were included. The resistance rates of fluconazole, itraconazole and ketoconazole remain highest for vulvovaginal and oral isolates. The rate of resistance to the polyene amphotericin B was 32.0% for all clinical isolates and was 56.4% for vulvovaginal strains. Resistance rate to nystatin was 6.3% for all clinical isolates. Cross-resistance analysis with data of all clinical strains revealed that the incidence of resistance to ketoconazole and itraconazole in fluconazole-resistant isolates was significantly higher than recorded for fluconazole-susceptible isolates.

CONCLUSION: In vitro C. albicans antifungal susceptibility test in this study showed relatively high resistance to commonly and widely used azoles (fluconazole, ketoconazole). Most C. albicans clinical isolates were susceptible to nystatin.