Fungemia Caused by "Nonpathogenic" Yeasts

Abstract

THE FAMILY Cryptococcacae includes species ofCryptococcusandCandida. Clinical infections in man caused by members of this family are generally due toCandida albicansor less commonlyCryptococcus neoformans. In recent years, it has become clear thatCandida tropicalismay also produce severe systemic infection in both man and experimental animals.1-5Other members of the family includeCandida parapsilosis, C pseudotropicalis, C krusei, C guilliermondii, C stellatoidea, Torulopsis glabrata, and the genusRhodotorula. Disseminated infections due to these organisms are rarely reported in man. The single exception to this is subacuteCandidaendocarditis; approximately one third of these cases have been caused by species other thanC albicans, usuallyC parapsilosisorC guilliermondii.6,7Almost uniformly the subacute endocardial infections due toCandidaspecies are limited to the heart valves and do not invade other tissues. Consequently, they constitute a special group and have been separated from