PREVALENCE OF URINARY CANDIDA SPECIES IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Background: Worldwide, urinary tract infection is found most common problem caused by microbial invasion to different tissues of urinary tract. There has been a marked increase in fungal infections involving the urinary tract, of which candida species are the most prevalent. Objective: To determine the prevalence of candida isolates from urine of patients reporting to Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out from January 2013 to December 2013 among 4069 urine cultures of patients aged 18 years and above of either gender. Urine samples were taken in a sterilized container and were cultured using standard techniques. Candida isolates were identified by Lactophenol blue wet films and Gram stain. SPSS-17 was used for statistical analysis. Descriptive statistics were calculated and chi square test was applied to see the associations. Results: Among 4069 patients, 37.6% were male and 62.4% were female. Female patients revealed higher incidence of candida speciesin urine (7%) than that of male patients (3.2%) while there was no difference of Candida species isolations among ward and outdoor female (7.4% and 6.3%) and male patients (3.3% and 3%). The results shows significant association of urine culture result with gender, age and setting among patient