CANDIDA SPECIES IDENTIFIED BY MALDI-TOF AND ANTIFUNGAL SUSCEPTIBILITY IN HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS WITH COVID-19 IN PERU

Paredes-Gago R.; Alvarado-Vela S.; Céspedes-Román C. · Revista Peruana de Medicina Experimental y Salud Publica (2026) · DOI: 10.17843/rpmesp.2026.431.15685

Resumen

Objectives. To identify Candida species using MALDI-TOF and analyze their antifungal susceptibility from Candida genus isolates in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 between November 2020 and April 2022. Materials and methods. An observational, descriptive, and cross-sectional study based on the secondary analysis of microbiological and clinical-epidemiological data from 260 Candida isolates, primarily from urine, respiratory secretions, and blood cultures, referred to the National Reference Laboratory of Mycology of the National Institute of Health. Identification was performed using phenotypic techniques and MALDI-TOF, and antifungal susceptibility was evaluated using disk diffusion and broth microdilution according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) criteria. Results. Candida albicans was the most prevalent species (64.6%), followed by Candida tropicalis, Candida glabrata, Candida parapsilosis, and Candida auris. Most isolates showed susceptibility to voriconazole and caspofungin, while varying percentages of susceptibility to fluconazole were observed, especially in C. glabrata and C. auris. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values showed variability between species and antifungals. Conclusions. Non-albicans species represented a considerable proportion of the analyzed isolates. These findings describe the pattern of species and antifungal susceptibility in strains referred to the National Reference Laboratory of Mycology of the National Institute of Health during the COVID-19 pandemic.