Recovery of Candida dubliniensis from sputum of cystic fibrosis patients

Yeasts have been cultivated in a high percentage of sputum samples from patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). In cases of Candida dubliniensis a high recovery rate (15-25%) has so far only been reported from the oral cavity of HIV-infected persons. When studying sputum samples of patients suffering from cystic fibrosis (n = 54) we could repeatedly observe C. dubliniensis in 6 patients (11.1%) by using a complex isolation procedure involving the use of Staib agar. This revealed that the prevalence rate was significantly higher than the estimated overall prevalence for all non-HIV infected patients (0.8%) currently reported.