Abstract
Candidemia is an important cause of morbidity and mortality. As statins interfere with yeast membrane synthesis, we assessed whether use of statins during candidemia may cause differences in clinical outcomes. A retrospective review of 124 candidemia episodes during 2003–2008 in which all-cause and attributable mortality, length of stay and level of care were compared for patients who received and those who did not receive statins. A total of 124 candidemia events were observed involving 14 patients on statins and 110 without statins. Overall mortality in candidemia cases was 46%, but only 2% was attributed to candidemia. No differences were observed in clinical outcomes for the two groups of patients. During the last 2-year period of our study, there were higher rates of candidemia caused by non-C. albicans Candida spp., particularly those due to C. glabrata and C. parapsilosis. In conclusion, statin use during candidemia did not alter mortality, length of stay, or intensive care requirement of our patients, despite higher rates of non-C. albicans Candida species isolated during the last 2 years of our study.
Acknowledgements
We thank Katherine A. Hare, BS and Robert Williamson, PhD, database manager, for their assistance in candidemia data extraction. The views expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the policies of the Department of Veterans Affairs and George Washington University.
Authorship: All authors met all criteria for authorship and had a role in writing this manuscript.
Source of funding: There was no financial support for this study.
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.
This paper was first published online on Early Online on 7 June 2012.