Antifungal susceptibility of clinical Candida parapsilosis isolates in Kuwait

This study presents data on antifungal susceptibility of 114 Candida parapsilosis isolates recovered from clinical specimens in Kuwait. Candida parapsilosis isolates originating from blood ( n  = 66) and other clinical specimens ( n  = 48) were tested by Etest against amphotericin B (AP), caspofungin (CS), 5-flucytosine (FC), fluconazole (FL) and voriconazole (VO). The plates were incubated at 35 °C and readings for minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were recorded after 24 and 48 h of incubation. The MIC ranges and MIC₉₀ read after 48 h were as follows: 0.064–1 and 0.5 μg ml⁻¹ for AP; 0.125–4 and 1.5 μg ml⁻¹ for CS; 0.047 to >256 and 1 μg ml⁻¹ for FL; 0.023 to >32 and 0.125 μg ml⁻¹ for FC and <0.002–1 and 0.047 μg ml⁻¹ for VO respectively. According to Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute criteria, all the isolates were susceptible to VO, and resistance against FC and FL was <2%. Eight (7%) isolates exhibited reduced susceptibility (MIC >1 μg ml⁻¹) to CS including six isolates with MIC of ≥2 μg ml⁻¹ at 48 h reading. The antifungal resistance among bloodstream isolates of C. parapsilosis against AP, FL, FC and VO in Kuwait is rare. This is the first report on CS susceptibility of C. parapsilosis isolates from Arabian Gulf region.