Introduction: About 10% to 15% of in-hospital urinary tract infections (UTIs) are due to Candida species, and the prevalence is still increasing. A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine fungal causative agents of UTI in asymptomatic and symptomatic diabetic patients and associated risk factors.
Materials and methods: Between May and June 2010, a total of 422 diabetic patients with asymptomatic UTI (n = 387) and symptomatic UTI (n = 35) were investigated for UTI at Gondar University Hospital. Clean-catch midstream urine specimens were collected from each participant. Fungal urine culture and identification were done using standard microbiologic procedure.
Results: The age range of the participants was 20 to 84 years (mean, 42.3 years). Significant candiduria was detected in 7.5% and 17.1% of asymptomatic and symptomatic diabetic patients, respectively. The overall prevalence of significant candiduria in both groups was 8.3%. Candida species were isolated in 38 urine samples. Of these, 84.2% were from the asymptomatic diabetic patients and the remaining 15.8% were from the symptomatic patients. The most common species were C albicans (42.0%), C glabrata (34.2%), and C tropicalis (15.8%). Significant candiduria was strongly associated with being female.
Conclusions: The presence of candiduria in diabetic patients should not be neglected. Although C albicans is the organism most often associated with serious fungal infection, other Candida species are also isolated as clinically important opportunistic pathogens in type 2 diabetic patients.