The incidence of invasive candidiasis (IC) in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) has significantly increased. Although C. albicans is still the most common pathogen detected in IC cases (60-75%), the increase in the use of prophylactic antifungal therapies and empirical echinocandin has led to a shift in detected pathogens to non-albicans candida species such as C. glabrata (2-8%). In the past, C. glabrata was considered one of the relatively non-pathogenic saprophytes of the normal flora. However, mucosal and systemic C. glabrata infections have escalated with the increase in the survival rates of premature newborns, prolonged hospitalization, and the widespread use of immunosuppressives and broad-spectrum antibiotics and started to appear more frequently as an important nosocomial pathogen, especially with its natural resistance to the azole antifungals. In this article, we aimed to draw attention to the importance of C. glabrata in NICUs by presenting extremely low-birth-weight premature twins with severe clinical course.

Keywords: Extremely low birth weight, invasive candidiasis, Candida glabrata, sepsis