Antifungal Resistance Patterns, Virulence Attributes and Spectrum of Oral Candida Species in Patients with Periodontal Disease

Aims: To observe the antifungal resistance pattern, virulence attributes and spectrum of Candida species in oral cavities of patients with periodontal diseases and healthy individuals.
Study Design: A total number of 52 patients with periodontal disease and 100 healthy subjects were included in the study.
Place and Duration: The study was carried out in the Apex Regional STD Teaching, Training and Research Centre, VMMC and Safdarjang Hospital and Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Duration of the study was from December 2011 to June 2013.
Methodology: Oral swabs were collected from the patients and control group. The specimens were cultured for Candida and the species identified, according to standard protocols. Antifungal susceptibility testing and virulence tests were performed.
Results: Out of 52 patients screened 11 yielded (21%) different Candida species, with Candida albicans (83%) being the commonest and non Candida albicans Candida (NCAC) species accounting for 17 %. Among 100 healthy controls, 23 were colonized by various Candida species, with Candida albicans again as the predominant species. A significant difference (P =.002) was observed in the secretion of proteinase enzyme between the isolates from cases and controls. However, in the distribution of Candida species, antifungal resistance patterns, phospholipase secretion and biofilm formation there was no such significant difference.
Conclusion: Our results reveal that there is no significant difference in the distribution of Candida species among healthy subjects and patients with periodontal diseases. Antifungal resistance patterns and expression of some of the important virulence attributes also revealed no differences between the isolates from patients and control populations.