A comparative study on production of extracellular hydrolytic enzymes of Candida species isolated from patients with surgical site infection and from healthy individuals and their co-relation with antifungal drug resistance

Abstract Background Surgical site infection (SSI) is a crucial dilemma of surgery. Patients with SSIs not only face difficulty in treatment but also bear extra cost with high mortality rate. Resistant strains of Candida have emerged as an important nosocomial pathogen. Proteinase and phospholipase are exo- enzymes of Candida species, have importance with respect to their contribution in diseases. This study focused on prevalence of Candida species in surgical wound, their resistance to antifungal drugs, co-relation of these resistance with virulence potential of Candida species and comparison of production level of exo-enzymes of Candida species isolated from patients with SSIs and healthy individuals to highlights their role in SSIs. Results A total of (n = 555) swab samples were investigated. (n = 450) samples were collected from patients with SSIs and (n = 105) were collected from healthy individuals. Samples were subjected for the identification of Candida species which were subsequently investigated for antifungal susceptibility, MICs and enzymatic activity of Candida species. Out of 128 strains of Candida spp. isolated from SSIs, 54(42.18%) were identified as C. albicans followed by C. glabrata 32(25%), C. parapsilosis 17(13.28%), C. krusei 13(10.16%) and C. tropicalis 12(9.38%). C. albicans isolates showed 100% susceptibility to voriconazole and amphotericin B followed by itraconazole 98% and fluconazole 89%. Out of 6 fluconazole resistant C. albicans 5(83.33%) were able to produce phospholipase while out of 48 fluconazole-susceptible strains 17(35.42%) were found to be phospholipase producer. Out of 54 C. albicans isolated from surgical wound 46(85.18%) and 49(90.74%) were found to be phospholipase and proteinase producer respectively, whereas out of 20 C. albicans isolates from healthy subjects 14(70%) produce proteinase and 12(60%) produce phospholipase. There were significant statistical differences found between the level of enzyme production by C. albicans, in relation to both sites (P = 0.014). Conclusion Study revealed that prevalence of Candida species is high in SSIs. Phospholipase and proteinase activity were more pronounced in Candida Species from surgical wound in contrast to species from healthy individuals suggests these enzymes may have been responsible for the severity of infection in surgical wound patients.