Mycological Profile of Respiratory Tract Samples in a Tertiary Care Hospital from Western India

Abstract

There has been a rise in opportunistic fungal infections in the recent years. Respiratory fungal infections are an important cause for mortality and morbidity in such cases. This study was planned to study the mycological profile of respiratory samples in a tertiary care hospital. This was a retrospective study conducted over a period of 2 years in the department of Microbiology in BJGMC and Sassoon hospital, Pune. The samples were first observed under KOH mount and inoculated on SDA. The growth was identified using standard microbiological methods. A total of 70 respiratory samples were evaluated in the study out of which 40 were culture positive. Candida albicans was identified as the predominant species followed by Aspergillus spp, non albicans Candida and Geotrichum spp. Early diagnosis and proper understanding of the causative agent plays an important role to improve the outcome of the patients. Key words: Respiratory, Candida, Aspergillus.