Introduction. Candida auris is an emerging fungal pathogen. The organism can cause invasive infections associated with high mortality, has been implicated in outbreaks in healthcare settings and is frequently resistant to multiple antifungal agents, making it a significant challenge to infection prevention and patient treatment. Aim. To implement a real-time PCR assay for detection of C. auris in patient surveillance samples collected with the Copan Liquid Amies elution swab (ESwab) collection and transport system. Methodology. We optimized a real-time PCR testing procedure based on the sample collection device used in our institution. Results . ESwab transport medium was strongly inhibitory to the real-time PCR. Removing the medium with centrifugation, followed by suspending the pellet in PBS-BSA buffer (concentration 1 %), sufficiently eliminated the inhibition. The manual sample preparation method, freeze–thaw followed by mechanical disruption, allowed the detection of C. auris at the lowest cell concentration. Conclusion . The optimized procedure was used to test 1414 patient surveillance samples. The real-time PCR detected all culture-positive samples with 100 % sensitivity and 100 % specificity.

中文翻译：

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优化实时PCR检测方法，以快速检测鼻腔和腋窝/腹股沟样品中的念珠菌。

引言。黄金假丝酵母是一种新兴的真菌病原体。该生物体可引起与高死亡率相关的侵入性感染，与医疗机构中的疾病爆发有关，并且通常对多种抗真菌剂具有抗性，使其成为预防感染和治疗患者的重大挑战。目标。为了实现实时PCR检测方法的C.耳与科潘液体艾米丝洗脱拭子（ESwab）采集和传输系统收集的患者样本的监视英寸 方法。我们基于我们机​​构使用的样品收集设备优化了实时PCR测试程序。结果 。 ESwab转运介质强烈抑制实时PCR。离心除去培养基，然后将沉淀物悬浮在PBS-BSA缓冲液（浓度1％）中，充分消除了抑制作用。手动样品制备方法，先冻融再机械破碎，可以在最低细胞浓度下检测到金黄色葡萄球菌。结论 。优化的程序用于测试1414个患者监护样品。实时荧光定量PCR检测所有培养阳性样品的灵敏度为100％，特异性为100％。