Background: Bloodstream infections due to Candida species cause significant morbidity and mortality, and the epidemiology of Candida infection is changing. Surveillance for candidemia is necessary to detect trends in species distribution and antifungal resistance. Methods: The medical and electronic records of all patients who had candidemia at the authors’ hospital from 2009 to 2011 were reviewed for demographic data and clinical information, including the infecting Candida species, resistance to antifungals and survival, and the presence of risk factors associated with candidemia. Results: A total of 133 distinct episodes of candidemia were identified over the study period. The annual incidence of candidemia ranged between 0.71 and 0.85 cases/1000 hospital discharges. The most frequent Candida species were C. tropicalis (28.6%), followed by C. albicans (23.3%) and C. parapsilosis (19.5%). The rates of susceptibility to antifungal agents were as followed: voriconazole (97.8%), itraconazole (69.5%), fluconazole (46.1%), ketoconazole (38.9%). Out of 131 evaluable patients, 34 (26.0%) died within 30 days from the onset of candidemia. C. tropicalis candidemia was associated with the highest mortality rate (44.7%). Regarding the crude mortality in the different units, patients in Hemato-Oncology ward had the highest mortality rate (66.7%), followed by patients in cardiovascular wards and ICU (57.1% and 25.6%, respectively). Predictors of 30-day mortality were identified by uni- and multivariate analyses. Complicated abdominal surgery, presence of central venous catheter (CVC), neutropenia, candidemia due to C. tropicalis and poor treatment with fluconazole were significantly associated with the 30-day mortality. Presence of CVC (odds ratio[OR] = 4.177; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.698 to 10.278; P = 0.002) was the only independent predictor for mortality in the multivariate analysis. Conclusion: This report provides baseline data for future epidemiological and susceptibility studies and for the mortality rates associated with candidemia in our hospital. The knowledge of the local epidemiological trends in Candida species isolated in blood cultures is important to guide therapeutic choices.

The yeast Candida is one of the most frequent pathogens isolated from bloodstream infections and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Problems with clinical and microbiological diagnosis of invasive candidiasis (IC) have prompted the development of non-culture-based laboratory methods. Previous reports suggest that serological detection of antibodies might be useful for diagnosing systemic candidiasis. Diagnosis of IC using antibodies against recombinant Candida albicans enolase (Eno) and fructose-bisphosphate aldolase (Fba1) was evaluated. Using recombinant Eno and Fba1 as coating antigens, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were used to analyze sera from patients with candidemia (n = 101), Candida colonization (n = 50), bacteremia (n = 84), invasive aspergillosis (n = 40); and from healthy controls (n = 200). The results demonstrated that ELISA detection of anti-Eno and anti-Fba1 IgG distinguished IC from other pathogenic infections in patients and healthy individuals. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were 72.3%, 94.7%, 78.5% and 93% for anti-Eno, and 87.1%, 92.8%, 76.5% and 96.4% for anti-Fba1 antibodies, respectively. Combining these two tests improved sensitivity up to 90.1% and negative predictive value up to 97.1%, with specificity and positive predictive values of 90.6% and 72.2%. The tests were specific to the Candida genus and antibody titers were higher for candidemia patients than for controls. Positive antibody tests were obtained before blood culture results for 42.2% of patients for anti-Eno and 51.1% for anti-Fba1. These data suggest that tests that detect IgG antibodies against Candida enolase and fructose-bisphosphate aldolase, especially when used in combination, could be a powerful tool for diagnosing IC.

Small dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (sdLDL-C) concentration was useful in the assessment of the presence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and its severity. We examined whether SdLDL-C is more closely associated with carotid artery intima-media thickness (CA-IMT), a surrogate measure of atherosclerosis, than LDL-C and traditional CVD risk factors in Chinese healthy subjects. We measured CA-IMT, blood pressure (BP), sdLDL-C, glucose metabolism and lipid in 183 native Chinese healthy subjects. CA-IMT was assessed by ultrasonography, and sdLDL-C concentrations were measured by a homogenous assay. Pearson's correlation coefficient analyses and Multiple regression analyses were used to examine the relationships between CA-IMT values and other clinical variables. The sdLDL-C level was significantly higher in males than in females (p <0.05) and there was an age effect on sdLDL-C (p <0.05). When the effects of age, gender and other traditional CVD risk factors were adjusted using multiple regression analysis. CA-IMT remained significantly associated with sdLDL-C(β = 0.437, p <0.001). There are gender and age differences in sdLDL-C levels among a healthy Chinese population. Moreover, we found adjusted traditional CVD risk factors such as higher age, male sex, and other traditional CVD risk factors, the association between CA-IMT and SdLDL-C remained significant. sdLDL-C is may be a useful predictor in the assessment of CA-IMT in Chinese population.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is often comorbid with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Small low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (sdLDL-C) has also been found to increase risk for CVD. The goal of the present study was to determine the nature of the relationship between sdLDL-C concentration and CVD in patients with CKD. One-hundred and forty-five subjects (113 men and 32 women) with CKD (Stage 3 and Stage 4) participated this retrospective study. The concentration of sdLDL-C was measured in samples from 145 CKD patients between 2010 and 2012 during a four-year follow-up period. A total of eight fatal cardiovascular events (CVs) and 46 nonfatal CVs were registered in the four-year follow-up period. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that sdLDL-C [1.278, 95 % (1.019–1.598)] and sdLDL-C/LDL-C [2.456, 95 % (1.421–15.784)], at final observation, were independent risks of CVs. A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that patients with sdLDL-C >38 mg/dl (logrank: 4.375, P = 0.037), and sdLDL-C/LDL-C ratio >0.3 levels (logrank: 11.94, P = 0.018) were at increased risk for CVs. The results of this study indicated that for patients suffering CKD, a significant relationship exists between an elevated sdLDL-C concentration and the risk of cardiovascular disease.

There is limited data on the genotype distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the Taihu River Basin, home to 1.29 million people on the coast of eastern China. This study evaluated the prevalence and genotypes among different female age groups in this region. Twenty-six HPV strains (low-risk HPV 6, 11, 40, 42, 44, 61, 73 and high-risk HPV 16, 18, 26, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 53, 55, 56, 58, 59, 66, 68, 82, and 83) were detected using Tellgenplex™ HPV technology in samples obtained from three clinical hospitals located in different regions of the Taihu Lake Basin. The results showed that 1855 samples (20.97% of all samples) were found to be HPV-positive. Of these, 1375 samples (15.55% of all samples) were found to have a single HPV infection. Age-specific prevalence showed two peaks, one that corresponded to the group of 21–30 year-old women and the other peak that corresponded to the group of women over 51 years old. The three most prevalent genotypes were HPV52 (19.95%, 370/1855), HPV16 (13.48%, 150/1855), and HPV58 (11.32%, 210/1855). Mixed strains HPV58 + HPV33 and HPV58 + HPV52 were most commonly found in females infected with multiple HPV types. This investigation reveals that HPV infection in the Taihu River Basin varied significantly among different age groups. The most prevalent genotypes are included in the nonavalent vaccine, V503, however this vaccine is not licensed for use in mainland China. The most frequently occurring genotypes should be considered in the development of next-generation HPV vaccines for optimal protection of public health.