Epidemiology and Antifungal Susceptibility of Infections Caused by Trichosporon Species: An Emerging Non-Candida and Non-Cryptococcus Yeast Worldwide

ABSTRACT The physiological patterns, the sequence polymorphisms of the internal transcriber spacer (ITS), and intergenic spacer regions (IGS) of the rRNA genes and the antifungal susceptibility profile were evaluated for their ability to identify Trichosporon spp. and their specificity for the identification of 49 clinical isolates of Trichosporon spp. Morphological and biochemical methodologies were unable to differentiate among the Trichosporon species. ITS sequencing was also unable to differentiate several species. However, IGS1 sequencing unambiguously identified all Trichosporon isolates. Following the results of DNA-based identification, Trichosporon asahii was the species most frequently isolated from deep sites (15 of 25 strains; 60%). In the main, other Trichosporon species were recovered from cutaneous samples. The majority of T. asahii, T. faecale, and T. coremiiforme clinical isolates exhibited resistance in vitro to amphotericin B, with geometric mean (GM) MICs >4 μg/ml. The other species of Trichosporon did not show high MICs of amphotericin B, and GM MICs were <1 μg/ml. Azole agents were active in vitro against the majority of clinical strains. The most potent compound in vitro was voriconazole, with a GM MIC ≤0.14 μg/ml. The sequencing of IGS correctly identified Trichosporon isolates; however, this technique is not available in many clinical laboratories, and strains should be dispatched to reference centers where these complex methods are available. Therefore, it seems to be more practical to perform antifungal susceptibility testing of all isolates belonging to Trichosporon spp., since correct identification could take several weeks, delaying the indication of an antifungal agent which exhibits activity against the infectious strain.

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Molecular identification, genotyping, and antifungal susceptibility testing of clinically relevant Trichosporon species from Argentina

Medical Mycology ◽

10.1093/mmy/myt029 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 52 (4) ◽

pp. 356-366 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

C. G. Taverna ◽

S. Cordoba ◽

O. A. Murisengo ◽

W. Vivot ◽

G. Davel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Molecular Identification ◽

Susceptibility Testing ◽

Antifungal Susceptibility ◽

Antifungal Susceptibility Testing ◽

Trichosporon Species

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Epidemiological profile and antifungal susceptibility pattern of Trichosporon species in a tertiary care hospital in Chandigarh, India

Current Medical Mycology ◽

10.18502/cmm.7.1.6179 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Vibha Mehta ◽

Jagdish Chander ◽

Neelam Gulati ◽

Nidhi Singla ◽

Hena Vasdeva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Antifungal Susceptibility ◽

Tertiary Care ◽

Tertiary Hospital ◽

North India ◽

Care Hospital ◽

Susceptibility Pattern ◽

Trichosporon Species ◽

Epidemiological Profile ◽

Associated Risk Factors

Background and Purpose: Trichosporon species are ubiquitous in nature which are associated with fatal opportunistic invasive infections, especially in immunocompromised patients. The present study aimed to evaluate the epidemiological and clinical details, as well as the antifungal susceptibility pattern of the patients with Trichosporon infections. Materials and Methods: In total, 50 clinical isolates of Trichosporon species from various samples were included in this study. The samples were isolated over a period of 18 months from patients in a tertiary hospital in North India. The isolates were characterised phenotypically with Vitek MS (bioMérieux, France). Trichosporon spp. were isolated from urine (30%), nail (30%), tissue (16%), pleural fluid (14%), and sputum (5%). In total, majority of the isolates were of Trichosporon asahii (92%),followed by Trichosporon mucoides (6%), and Trichosporon ovoides (2%). It is noteworthy that most of the reported cases were from intensive care unit (34%). Results: Intravenous catheters, antibiotics, and antifungal uptake were significantly associated risk factors with Trichosporon infection. All invasive isolates were observed to be resistant in vitro to caspofungin and exhibited high minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values against amphotericin B, fluconazole, and 5-flucytosine. The MICs for voriconazole and posaconazole were low. Conclusion: Trichosporonosis is being increasingly reported all around the world,including India. The results of this study highlighted the importance of early detection and treatment for this emerging yeast and also added to the ongoing surveillance for the antifungal susuceptibility pattern for this fungus.

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