Kodamaea ohmeri: A rare yeast causing invasive infections in immunocompromised patients

Parul Singh; Smriti Srivastava; Sharin Varma; Neha Sharad; Aparna Ningombam; Chandan Peddapulla; Rajesh Malhotra; Purva Mathur

doi:10.3855/jidc.18517

Kodamaea ohmeri: A rare yeast causing invasive infections in immunocompromised patients

Authors

Parul Singh Department of Microbiology, Trauma Centre, AIIMS, New Delhi, India https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3733-6283
Smriti Srivastava Department of Microbiology, Trauma Centre, AIIMS, New Delhi, India https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7252-8993
Sharin Varma Department of Microbiology, Trauma Centre, AIIMS, New Delhi, India
Neha Sharad Department of Microbiology, Trauma Centre, AIIMS, New Delhi, India https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0025-1649
Aparna Ningombam Department of Laboratory Medicine, Trauma Centre, AIIMS, New Delhi, India
Chandan Peddapulla Department of Gastroenterology, AIIMS, New Delhi, India https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6719-9868
Rajesh Malhotra Department of Orthopaedics, AIIMS, New Delhi, India
Purva Mathur Department of Laboratory Medicine, Trauma Centre, AIIMS, New Delhi, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3855/jidc.18517

Keywords:

Kodamaea ohmeri, immunocompromised, fungemia

Abstract

Introduction: Kodamaea ohmeri is a rare, recognized pathogen that has previously been isolated from environmental sources. The patients commonly affected by this yeast include immunocompromised as well as immunocompetent patients having several associated risk factors.

Methodology: We report three cases in which K. ohmeri was isolated from blood using Bact T/ALERT. Identification was carried out by MALDI-TOF MS (Vitek-MS, BioMérieux, Marcy-l’Etoile, France) in addition to color characteristics on chromogenic media. The patients had diminished immune response on account of a multitude of comorbidities.

Results: K. ohmeri can be misidentified as Candida tropicalis, Candida albicans, or Candida hemolounii by conventional methods; correct and timely identification can be achieved by MALDI-TOF MS. Antifungal susceptibility breakpoints for K. ohmeri are currently not defined. An Echinocandin was added to the treatment regimen of all three of the cases.

Conclusions: Identification of K. ohmeri using conventional methods is difficult and unusual yeasts should be carefully observed, especially upon prolonged incubation.

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Published

2024-04-30

How to Cite

Singh P, Srivastava S, Varma S, Sharad N, Ningombam A, Peddapulla C, Malhotra R, Mathur P (2024) Kodamaea ohmeri: A rare yeast causing invasive infections in immunocompromised patients. J Infect Dev Ctries 18:636–639. doi: 10.3855/jidc.18517

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Issue

Vol. 18 No. 04: April 2024

Section

Case Reports

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