Fungal Diseases

Risk & Prevention

People at Risk for Invasive Candidiasis Who Gets Invasive Candidiasis?

Candidemia (a bloodstream infection with Candida), is the fourth most common bloodstream infection among hospitalized patients in the United States. People at high risk for developing candidemia include:

Intensive care unit (ICU) patients
Surgical patients
Patients with a central venous catheter
People whose immune systems are weakened (such as people with HIV/AIDS)
Very low-birth-weight infants

How Can Invasive Candidiasis be Prevented?

Antifungal prophylaxis may be appropriate for some groups of people who are at high risk of developing candidemia, such as low-birth-weight infants.

Doctors and nurses can follow CDC-recommended infection control steps every time they work with a central line.
Patients and caregivers can ask if a central line is needed and, if so, how long it should stay in place. They can also make sure that healthcare professionals wash their hands before they care for the central line. Patients should speak up if the skin around the central line becomes sore or red, or if their bandages are wet or dirty. For more information on how to prevent healthcare-associated bloodstream infections, visit the CDC's Vital Signs Making Health Care Safer web page.