The systemic fungal infections by Candida spp in neonate is the relevant cause of sepsis at
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), leading in the past recent decades to a considerable
mortality rate in healthcare centers at a global level. The main goal of this study is to evaluate
clinic and epidemiologic aspects of this infection in the neonatal population who receive
medical assistance from a Hospital Materno Infantil in Belém, during the year of 2016. This is
a descriptive, transversal and retrospective study that analyses patient records in the period from
January and December of the mentioned year at the NICU of Fundação Santa Casa de
Misericórdia do Pará (FSCMPA) considering as eligibility criteria newborn patients admitted
in this period who were classified with positive culture of Candida spp in the data base of
Hospital Infection Control Committee of FSCMPA. It was included data from 68 cases of
candidemia in which 40% of the patients were identified with infection by Candida
parapsilosis, 39% by Candida quilliermondii, 17% Candida albicans, 3% with Candida
haemulonii, and 1% by Candida spp. The study has shown that the main risk factors,
considering the neonate, are the very low weight (35%) and the prematurity (76%). The most
frequent clinic sign identified and common to the newborns studied were the hemodynamic
instability of (53%), thermal instability (49%) and lethargy (47%), however, the most prevalent
one was the respiratory deterioration which was seen in 88% of the cases. Other signs were also
found such as apnea, bradycardia, hyperglycemia, hypotension and abdominal distention, but
not in similar proportion. Among the risk factors related to the medical assistance to the
newborn were identified 94% of the cases with wide range therapy of antimicrobial, the use of
mechanical ventilation, the use of central venous catheter, and extended parenteral nutrition;
31% of the neonate studied had been through some type of surgical procedure and 18% were
treated with corticoids. The variation of Candida spp species as well the imprecision of the
clinical symptoms of the neonatal candidiasis make difficult to diagnose this infection and
therefore the early adequate therapy, for this reason the study reinforce the importance of the
evaluation of the risk factors predisposing to fungal infections in neonate in the hospital
environment in order to improve the necessary handling with the newborns in the health care
centers with high rate of candidemia.
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