Candida auris has become a major health threat due to its transmissibility, multidrug resistance and severe outcomes. In a case-control design, 74 hospitalised patients with candidemia were enrolled. In total, 22 cases (29.7percent-flag-change) and 52 controls (C. albicans, 21.6percent-flag-change; C. parapsilosis, 21.6percent-flag-change; C. tropicalis, 21.6percent-flag-change; C. glabrata, 1.4percent-flag-change) were included and analysed in this study. Risk factors, clinical and microbiological characteristics and outcomes of patients with C. auris and non-auris Candida species (NACS) candidemia were compared. Previous fluconazole exposure was significantly higher in C. auris candidemia patients (OR 3.3; 1.15-9.5). Most C. auris isolates were resistant to fluconazole (86.3percent-flag-change) and amphotericin B (59percent-flag-change) whilst NACS isolates were generally susceptible. No isolates resistant to echinocandins were detected. The average time to start antifungal therapy was 3.6 days. Sixty-three (85.1percent-flag-change) patients received adequate antifungal therapy, without significant differences between the two groups. The crude mortality at 30 and 90 days of candidemia was up to 37.8percent-flag-change and 40.5percent-flag-change, respectively. However, there was no difference in mortality both at 30 and 90 days between the group with candidemia by C. auris (31.8percent-flag-change) and by NACS (42.3percent-flag-change) (OR 0.6; 95percent-flag-change IC 0.24-1.97) and 36.4percent-flag-change and 42.3percent-flag-change (0.77; 0.27-2.1), respectively. In this study, mortality due to candidemia between C. auris and NACS was similar. Appropriate antifungal therapy in both groups may have contributed to finding no differences in outcomes.
