Choudhary S, Mishra RK, Parihar S, Kinimi SV, Yadav R, Grotra R. Pediatric Candiduria: Insights from an observational study at a tertiary care hospital in northwestern India. World J Clin Pediatr 2025; 14(4): 110106 [DOI: 10.5409/wjcp.v14.i4.110106]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Sulika V Kinimi, MD, Department of Microbiology, SMS Medical College, JLN Marg, Jaipur 302004, Rājasthān, India. drsulikakinimi@yahoo.com
Research Domain of This Article
Microbiology
Article-Type of This Article
Observational Study
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This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Dec 9, 2025 (publication date) through Oct 31, 2025
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Journal Information of This Article
Publication Name
World Journal of Clinical Pediatrics
ISSN
2219-2808
Publisher of This Article
Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
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Choudhary S, Mishra RK, Parihar S, Kinimi SV, Yadav R, Grotra R. Pediatric Candiduria: Insights from an observational study at a tertiary care hospital in northwestern India. World J Clin Pediatr 2025; 14(4): 110106 [DOI: 10.5409/wjcp.v14.i4.110106]
Sidhya Choudhary, Ramesh Kumar Mishra, Smriti Parihar, Sulika V Kinimi, Department of Microbiology, SMS Medical College, Jaipur 302004, Rājasthān, India
Rajeev Yadav, Department of Community Medicine, SMS Medical College, Jaipur 302004, Rājasthān, India
Rohan Grotra, Department of Pediatrics, SMS Medical College, Jaipur 302004, Rājasthān, India
Author contributions: Choudhary S, Parihar S, Kinimi SV, and Grotra R were responsible for data collection; Choudhary S and Yadav R conducted data analysis; Choudhary S and Yadav R drafted the manuscript; Mishra RK, Choudhary S, Parihar S reviewed the manuscript; Choudhary S and Parihar S performed the literature search; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Sawai Man Singh Medical College, Jaipur, India (Approval No. 100/MC/EC/2020).
Informed consent statement: Patients were not required to give individual informed consent as the study involved anonymized clinical data collected as part of routine diagnostic procedures. The opt-out method was employed via institutional notice boards, as approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflicts of interest relevant to this article.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement- checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: The dataset, technical appendix, and statistical code are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Sulika V Kinimi, MD, Department of Microbiology, SMS Medical College, JLN Marg, Jaipur 302004, Rājasthān, India. drsulikakinimi@yahoo.com
Received: May 29, 2025 Revised: July 7, 2025 Accepted: October 10, 2025 Published online: December 9, 2025 Processing time: 155 Days and 10.7 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Pediatric candiduria is a frequently overlooked manifestation of healthcare-associated fungal infections. Candida species are increasingly being identified in the urine of neonates and infants, with non-albicans Candida (NAC) species being more prevalent than Candida albicans.
AIM
To determine the rate of Candida species isolation among pediatric patients with suspected urinary tract infections (UTI) at a tertiary care hospital.
METHODS
A total of 436 children with a clinical suspicion of UTI were enrolled in this laboratory-based descriptive observational study. The samples were then subjected to urine mounting and subcultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar. Candida isolates were identified based on the color of the colonies on CHROM agar, Dalmau plate culture, and germ tube formation. The results were confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry, followed by Antifungal susceptibility testing using Vitek® 2 AST-YS07 cards.
RESULTS
A total of 79 Candida isolates (18.12%) were identified. Of these, 39 (49.37%) were neonates, with a male-to-female ratio of 3.39:1. The intensive care unit (ICU) recorded 52 patients (65.82%). Of the 79 patients, 57 (72.15%) received broad-spectrum antibiotics for more than 7 days. Our study revealed a higher prevalence of NAC species, with Candida tropicalis accounting for 34 cases (43.04%). Amphotericin B showed the highest susceptibility, with 68 isolates (86.08%) being susceptible to this Antifungal agent.
CONCLUSION
Pediatric patients with Candiduria present atypical and vague symptoms. This may be the initial symptom of disseminated Candidiasis in the presence of predisposing factors. Isolation of these pathogens, along with their Antifungal susceptibility patterns, aids in a better prognosis.
Core Tip: This study provides region-specific data on the prevalence, species distribution, and antifungal susceptibility patterns of Candiduria in pediatric patients at a tertiary care hospital in Northwestern India. The predominance of non-albicans Candida species, particularly Candida tropicalis, and the association with risk factors such as prolonged antibiotic use and intensive care admission, underscore the need for early recognition and appropriate antifungal stewardship. These findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of pediatric Candiduria in resource-limited settings.
