Rapid differentiation between fluconazole sensitive and resistant species of candida directly from positive blood culture bottles by real-time polymerase chain reaction (pcr)

Background: In view of both the delay in obtaining identification by conventional methods following blood culture positivity in candidaemic patients and the close relationship between species and fluconazole susceptibility, early speciation of positive blood cultures has immense potential to impact therapeutic decisions regarding empirical therapy. We aimed to develop a rapid test to differentiate fluconazole resistant from fluconazole sensitive Candida species.