Clonal outbreaks due to azole-resistant Candida parapsilosis (ARCP) isolates have been reported in numerous studies, but the environmental niche of such isolates has yet to be defined. Herein, we aimed to identify the environmental niche of ARCP isolates causing unremitting clonal outbreaks in an adult ICU from a Brazilian cancer referral center. C. parapsilosis sensu stricto isolates recovered from blood cultures, pericatheter skins, healthcare workers (HCW), and nosocomial surfaces were genotyped by multilocus microsatellite typing (MLMT). Antifungal susceptibility testing was performed by the EUCAST (European Committee for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing) broth microdilution reference method and ERG11 was sequenced to determine the azole resistance mechanism. Approximately 68% of isolates were fluconazole-resistant (76/112), including pericatheter skins (3/3, 100%), blood cultures (63/70, 90%), nosocomial surfaces (6/11, 54.5%), and HCW’s hands (4/28, 14.2%). MLMT revealed five clusters: the major cluster contained 88.2% of ARCP isolates (67/76) collected from blood (57/70), bed (2/2), pericatheter skin (2/3), from carts (3/7), and HCW’s hands (3/27). ARCP isolates were associated with a higher 30 day crude mortality rate (63.8%) than non-ARCP ones (20%, p = 0.008), and resisted two environmental decontamination attempts using quaternary ammonium. This study for the first time identified ARCP isolates harboring the Erg11-Y132F mutation from nosocomial surfaces and HCW’s hands, which were genetically identical to ARCP blood isolates. Therefore, it is likely that persisting clonal outbreak due to ARCP isolates was fueled by environmental sources. The resistance of Y132F ARCP isolates to disinfectants, and their potential association with a high mortality rate, warrant vigilant source control using effective environmental decontamination.

Horizontal transmission of fluconazole-resistant Candida parapsilosis (FRCP) through healthcare workers’ hands has contributed to the occurrence of candidemia outbreaks worldwide. Since the first COVID-19 case in Brazil was detected in early 2020, hospitals have reinforced hand hygiene and disinfection practices to minimize SARS-CoV-2 contamination. However, a Brazilian cardiology center, which shares ICU patients with a cancer center under a FRCP outbreak since 2019, reported an increased FRCP candidemia incidence in May 2020. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate an inter-hospital candidemia outbreak caused by FRCP isolates during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. C. parapsilosis bloodstream isolates obtained from the cancer (n = 35) and cardiology (n = 30) centers in 2020 were submitted to microsatellite genotyping and fluconazole susceptibility testing. The ERG11 gene of all isolates from the cardiology center was sequenced and compared to the corresponding sequences of the FRCP genotype responsible for the cancer center outbreak in 2019. Unprecedentedly, most of the FRCP isolates from the cardiology center presented the same genetic profile and Erg11-Y132F mutation detected in the strain that has been causing the persistent outbreak in the cancer center, highlighting the uninterrupted horizontal transmission of clonal isolates in our hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chikungunya (CHIK) is a mosquito-borne virus (CHIKV) infection that recently appeared in the Americas and thousands of confirmed cases have been reported in Brazil since the first autochthonous cases were reported in September 2014. We reported four cases of CHIK in kidney transplant recipients. The diagnosis was confirmed by positive CHIKV real-time polymerase chain reaction in two cases and positive CHIKV-IgM serology in two patients. The time between transplantation and CHIKV infection ranged from 2 to 11 years. All of them had arthralgia, and 3 of them had fever. Other symptoms were mild conjunctivitis, rash, and retro-orbital pain. Kidney function remained stable in all cases. In three patients prednisone doses were temporally increased and the symptoms disappeared concurrently with the increase of the dose. As for the fourth patient, the prednisone dose remained unchanged and yet she improved. Other immunosuppressive drugs were not changed for the four cases. As far as we know, there are only two previously reported cases of CHIK among solid organ transplant recipients besides the four cases reported here. Despite the small number of cases, we can speculate that the use of immunosuppression might have played a role in the paucity of symptoms and the gradual complete recovery with no complication.

To compare the clinical and epidemiological features, treatments, and outcomes of patients with isolated right-sided and left-sided fungal endocarditis and to determine the risk factors for inhospital mortality in patients with Candida sp endocarditis. Methods: A retrospective review of all consecutive cases of fungal endocarditis from five hospitals was performed. Clinical features were compared between patients with isolated right-sided and left-sided endocarditis. In the subgroup of fungal endocarditis due to Candida species, binary logistic regression analysis was performed to determine variables related to in-hospital mortality. Results: Seventy-eight patients with fungal endocarditis were studied. Their median age was 50 years; 55% were male and 19 patients (24%) had isolated right-sided endocarditis. Overall, cardiac surgery was performed in 46 patients (59%), and in-hospital mortality was 54%. Compared to patients with left-side fungal endocarditis, patients with isolated right-sided endocarditis had lower mortality (32% vs. 61%; p = 0.025) and were less often submitted to cardiac surgery (37% vs. 66%; p = 0.024). The most frequent etiology was Candida spp (85%). In this subgroup, acute heart failure (odds ratio 5.0; p = 0.027) and exclusive medical treatment (odds ratio 11.1; p = 0.004) were independent predictors of in-hospital death, whereas isolated right-sided endocarditis was related to a lower risk of mortality (odds ratio 0.13; p = 0.023). Conclusions: Patients with isolated right-sided fungal endocarditis have particular clinical and epidemiological features. They were submitted to cardiac surgery less often and had better survival than patients with left-sided fungal endocarditis. Isolated right-sided endocarditis was also a marker of a less harmful illness in the subgroup of Candida sp endocarditis.

PURPOSE Patients with cancer are at increased risk for unfavorable outcomes from COVID-19. Knowledge about the outcome determinants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in this population is essential for risk stratification and definition of appropriate management. Our objective was to evaluate prognostic factors for all-cause mortality in patients diagnosed with both cancer and COVID-19. METHODS All consecutive patients with cancer hospitalized at our institution with COVID-19 were included. Electronic medical records were reviewed for clinical and laboratory characteristics potentially associated with outcomes. RESULTS Five hundred seventy-six consecutive patients with cancer and COVID-19 were included in the present study. An overall in-hospital mortality rate of 49.3% was demonstrated. Clinical factors associated with increased risk of death because of COVID-19 were age over 65 years, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status > 0 zero, best supportive care, primary lung cancer, and the presence of lung metastases. Laboratory findings associated with a higher risk of unfavorable outcomes were neutrophilia, lymphopenia, and elevated levels of D-dimer, creatinine, C-reactive protein, or AST. CONCLUSION A high mortality rate in patients with cancer who were diagnosed with COVID-19 was demonstrated in the present study, emphasizing the need for close surveillance in this group of patients, especially in those with unfavorable prognostic characteristics.