Saprochaete clavata is an emerging opportunistic pathogen, that causes life-threatening infections, but there are limited evidence and information about the evaluation of in vitro antifungal susceptibility test results. The aim of this study was to determine S. clavata isolates from clinical specimens and to investigate their in vitro antifungal susceptibility. S. clavata was identified by API ID20C AUX (BioMérieux, Brussels, Belgium), MALDI TOF (Bruker Daltonik, Germany), and ITS gene region sequencing. In vitro susceptibility tests were performed using Sensititre YeastOne (TREK Diagnostic System, East Grinstead, UK). During the study period, 4,736 fungi were isolated from various clinical samples and, S. clavata was identified in eight patients with underlying diseases namely, pancreatic neoplasma, acute myeloid leukaemie, follicular lymphoma, cholelithiasis. Anidulafungin and micafungin minimum inhibitory concentration values were 1-2 and 1-4 mg/L, respectively, while those of the azole group antifungals were much lower. This is the first study in Turkey reporting isolation, identification and antifungal susceptibilities of S. clavata from clinical specimens. Higher MIC values seen in some isolates suggest that continuous monitoring of sensitivity rates and observation of regional differences will thus be useful guides in determining infection control and antifungal use policies.
Keywords: Saprochaete clavata; antifungal susceptibility; invasive fungal infections.