Genotyping and Antifungal Susceptibility of Dipodascus capitatus Isolated in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of a Sicilian Hospital

Adv Exp Med Biol. 2017:973:81-88. doi: 10.1007/5584_2016_195.

Abstract

In August 2015, Dipodascus capitatus was isolated from two patients admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. Nosocomial acquisition of the fungus was suspected and epidemiological studies were undertaken. The patients were simultaneously hospitalized, and the comparison of the two isolates by two independent molecular typing methods have confirmed clonal dissemination of a single strain of D. capitatus. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was useful for identifying the appropriated antifungal therapy in micafungin. To our knowledge these are the first described cases of neonatal D. capitatus infection and also the first report of successful treatment by micafungin.

Keywords: Antifungal Susceptibility; Dipodascus capitatus; Genotyping; Nosocomial Acquisition.

MeSH terms

  • Cross Infection / microbiology*
  • Dipodascus / drug effects*
  • Dipodascus / genetics
  • Dipodascus / immunology
  • Dipodascus / isolation & purification*
  • Female
  • Genotype
  • Hospitals / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Intensive Care Units, Neonatal / statistics & numerical data
  • Male
  • Mycoses / microbiology*
  • Sicily