Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of nosocomial candidiasis in university hospitals in Cuiabá--Mato Grosso, Brazil.

Background: Fungal infections are emerging as an important cause of human disease, especially among hospitalized patients with serious underlying disease and several risk factors.

Aims: To evaluate epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients with nosocomial candidiasis in university hospitals in Cuiabá - MT, Brazil.

Methods: A descriptive study of 91 patients admitted to university hospitals in Cuiabá - MT, with clinical and laboratory diagnosis of nosocomial candidiasis, over a 20-month period.

Evaluation of Etest and macrodilution broth method for antifungal susceptibility testing of Candida sp strains isolated from oral cavities of AIDS patients.

A comparison of the Etest and the reference broth macrodilution susceptibility test for fluconazole, ketoconazole, itraconazole and amphotericin B was performed with 59 of Candida species isolated from the oral cavities of AIDS patients. The Etest method was performed according to the manufacturer's instructions, and the reference method was performed according to National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards document M27-A guidelines. Our data showed that there was a good correlation between the MICs obtained by the Etest and broth dilution methods.