Objective: To identify the epidemiology of candida isolations in HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Medical Center and the sensitivity of all candida species to fluconazole.
Material and Method: Two hundred of Candida albicans and other Candida species from clinical specimens were collected
from microbiological department between January 2010 and April 2012. All Candida were identified by standard methods
and the sensitivity of fluconazole was tested by using fluconazole E test test.
Results: There were 8 species of Candida in this study including: C. albicans (n = 94), C. tropicalis (n = 66), C. glabrata (n = 11), C. guilliermondii (n = 10), C. parapsilosis (n = 9), C. zeylanoides (n = 4), C. keyfr (C. pseudotropicalis) (n = 2), C. lusitaniae (n = 1), Candida species (n = 3). The percentage of non-albicans Candida spp. was slightly higher than C. albicans (53% vs. 47%). C. tropicalis was identified as the highest percentage of all non-albicans Candida spp. Fluconazole resistant strains were detected among C. albicans (35.71%), C. tropicalis (13.85%), C. guilliermondii (20.0%), and C. zeylanoides (50.0%). The common spp. with highest percentage of resistant strain was C. albicans.
Conclusion: Fluconazole could be used as the first-line antifungal for candidiasis at HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Medical Center. Empirical treatment with amphotericin B and stepping down to fluconazole when sensitivity suggested might be the recommendation for severe cases in our setting.

Keywords: Candida, Fluconazole, Epidemiology, Sensitivity, HRH Princess Maha Chakri Siridhorn Medical Center