Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometric identification and antifungal susceptibility analysis of Candida species isolated from patients with invasive yeast infections in five university hospitals

In this multicenter study, we compared the performance of the Bruker Biotyper MS system and VITEK 2 YST systems for invasive yeast identification, investigated the distribution of isolated species, and evaluated the antifungal susceptibility profiles of Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis, and Candida tropicalis. In cases of discrepant results lack of identification with either method, molecular identification techniques were employed. We tested 216 clinical isolates, and concordance between the two methods was observed for 192/216 isolates (88.9%). For five unidentified strains (2.3%), an internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing approach was used. In brief, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-ToF MS) provided short turnaround times and more reliable results than those of Vitek 2 YST. In Wuhan, C. albicans, C. parapsilosis, Candida glabrata, and C. tropicalis were the most common pathogens (93.0%) in patients with candidemia. Cryptococcus neoformans was mainly detected in cerebrospinal fluid samples (88.9%). Trichosporon asahii were all isolated from drainage fluids in the Surgery. Candida albicans was clearly susceptible to azoles, while C. parapsilosis and C. tropicalis displayed differences in susceptibility to azoles. Our findings provide a basis for the practical application of MALDI-ToF MS for identification and for the use of ATB FUNGUS 3 to characterize the susceptibility of Candida spp., thereby providing significant data for therapeutic decisions.