Comparison of the incidence, clinical features and outcomes of invasive candidiasis in children and neonates.

BACKGROUND: Invasive candidiasis differs greatly between children and neonates. We aimed to investigate the different therapeutic approaches and their effects on treatment outcomes of these two groups.

METHODS: Episodes of neonatal invasive candidiasis were compared with non-neonatal pediatric episodes during a 12-year cohort study. Clinical isolates were documented by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry and DNA sequencing, and antifungal susceptibility testing was performed.

RESULTS: A total of 342 episodes of invasive candidiasis (113 neonatal and 229 non-neonatal pediatric episodes) in 281 pediatric patients (96 neonates and 185 children) were identified. Candida albicans was the most common pathogen causing invasive candidiasis in neonates and children (47.8% vs. 44.1%). The antifungal susceptibility profiles were not significantly different between neonates and children. More neonates received amphotericin B as therapy, whereas more children received fluconazole or caspofungin. Compared with children, neonates had a significantly longer duration of fungemia, higher rates of septic shock (34.5% vs. 21.8%; P = 0.013), sepsis-attributable mortality (28.3% vs. 17.5%; P = 0.024) and in-hospital mortality (42.7% vs. 25.4%; P = 0.004) than children. Independent risk factors for treatment failure of invasive candidiasis were septic shock (odds ration [OR] 16.01; 95% confidence interval [CI] 7.64-33.56; P <  0.001), delayed removal of intravenous catheter (OR 6.78; 95% CI 2.80-17.41; P <  0.001), renal failure (OR 5.38; 95% CI 1.99-14.57; P = 0.001), and breakthrough invasive candidiasis (OR 2.99; 95% CI 1.04-8.67; P = 0.043).

CONCLUSIONS: Neonatal invasive candidiasis has worse outcomes than non-neonatal pediatric candidiasis. Neonatologists and pediatricians must consider age-specific differences when developing treatment and prevention guidelines, or when interpreting studies of other age groups.