discussion 873–5PubMedCrossRef Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Authors’ contributions BT and SW conceived and designed the study, and drafted the manuscript. BT was responsible for data collection. JM was responsible for statistical analysis. PE, JM and DPG helped with the drafting and editing of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.”
“Introduction Invasive mycoses are important healthcare-associated infections, and have become an increasingly frequent problem in immunocompromised and severely ill patients [1]. Medical progress, which has resulted in a

growing number of invasive procedures, new dimensions in aggressive immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory treatments and widespread use of broad-spectrum GSK2118436 clinical trial antibiotics, is the main catalyst for this development [1–3]. Invasive fungal infections, Candida species in particular, are the fourth most common cause of nosocomial bloodstream infections, and are associated with high morbidity and mortality in critically-ill patients, particularly those who have recently

undergone extensive gastro-abdominal surgery [4]. Several studies conducted over the last two decades have shown that gastrointestinal surgeries are associated with an increased risk of fungemia, and patients admitted to AZ 628 concentration surgical intensive care units (ICUs) are considered to have a greater risk of developing it [3, 4]. Candida spp. are the main fungal strains of gut flora. Gastrointestinal tract surgery might lead to mucosal disruption and cause Candida spp. to disseminate through the bloodstream. Lastly, despite a strong index of suspicion in high-risk subjects

such as patients who require surgical re-intervention, and international guidelines on the use of antifungal prophylaxis, the incidence and severity of candidiasis in post-surgical patients appears significant. Moreover, isolated species show https://www.selleckchem.com/products/PF-2341066.html virulence Bupivacaine factors and exhibit varying levels of susceptibility to antifungal drugs [1, 5, 6]. In the present study, we report two cases of Candida albicans infection identified in abdominal specimens from patients who had undergone gastro-abdominal surgery. Case presentation First case In December 2012, a 54 year-old woman of Italian origin and nationality presented to the general surgery and emergency unit of the “P. Giaccone” Teaching Hospital in Palermo, Italy, with severe epigastric left-upper-quadrant pain that was progressive and burning. Her medical history was significant for hypertension, asthma and rectal cancer surgery (T1N0M0) involving low anterior resection with total mesorectal excision and end to end anastomosis in October 2012. Recovery from surgery was hampered by recurrent episodes of fever but no specific infectious agent was detected; in view of this, the patient showed clinical improvement after empirical treatment with fluconazole.