Candida albicans Meningitis in an Extremely Low Birth Weight Premature Neonate: A Case Report

Abstract

Invasive fungal infections are nosocomial infections that are common in very low and extremely low birth weight premature neonates and can cause morbidity and mortality. Invasive candidiasis (IC) caused by Candida albicans is the most common in these infections. Invasive fungal infections should be kept in mind in the presence of neonatal sepsis findings. Even in the cases which the central nervous system (CNS) involved, it is more difficult to obtain culture positivity in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) than blood; therefore in all IC cases, even if the CSF findings are not diagnostic or supportive, treatment should be initiated incluiding the CNS. In this article, we wanted to draw attention to the importance of invasive fungal infections in extremely low birth weight premature infants.

Keywords

• extremely low birth weight premature neonate
• invasive candidiasis
• candida albicans
• sepsis
• meningitis