Polymicrobial Fungemia: Microbiology, Clinical Features, and Significance

In a retrospective study covering a period of 13 1/2 years, polymicrobial fungemia was documented in 22 (3.4%) of 645 patients with fungemia. These infections were hospital acquired and occurred in patients with significant underlying diseases. In terms of the clinical setting and features, predisposing factors, fungal species responsible, management, and mortality rate (59%), polymicrobial fungemia appears similar to the more common "monomicrobial" fungemia. With increasing numbers of patients at risk and improved laboratory detection of fungemia, clinicians will probably encounter increasing numbers of these polymicrobial bloodstream infections.