The Rates of Antifungal Drug Resistance among Candida Species at a Governmental Hospital in Saudi Arabia

Antifungal resistance is a worldwide emerging threat that makes antifungals less effective against some fungal infections, but there is a lack of studying antifungal resistance in Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia. So, the present study aimed to describe the rates of antifungal drug resistance against Candida species in Al-Kharj. The present retrospective study was carried out to review the results of fungal isolates that were collected between January 2020 and December 2021 at a governmental hospital in Al-Kharj. Candida isolates accounted for about 7.72 percent of all isolates collected within our study period. The most prevalent Candida species were Candida albicans (55.32%), followed by Candida tropicalis (28.72%), and Candida auris (8.51%). The susceptibility rates of Candida glabrata, Candida tropicalis, Candida albicans, and Candida parapsilosis were high to all the tested antifungal agents (indicating low resistance rates). Candida auris exhibited higher rates of susceptibility to all tested antifungal agents but not with fluconazole (its susceptibility rate = 12.5%). Providers of health care should appropriately administer antifungals, particularly fluconazole, to prevent the formation of multidrug-resistant Candida species.