Description:
<jats:title>Summary</jats:title><jats:p>Cystic fibrosis (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CF</jats:styled-content>) is associated with increased rates of morbidity and mortality due to fungal and bacterial colonisation of the airways or respiratory infections. The prevalence of fungi in Iranian <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CF</jats:styled-content> population has been underestimated. Therefore, the current study was conducted to define the frequency of fungi in respiratory specimens obtained from Iranian <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CF</jats:styled-content> patients based on conventional and molecular assays. Furthermore, in vitro antifungal susceptibility testing was performed on the obtained isolates according to the guidelines from the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. A cohort of 42 <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CF</jats:styled-content> patients, including 29 males and 13 females, were categorised according to the referenced diagnostic criteria. <jats:italic>Candida albicans</jats:italic> (n = 24, 80%), <jats:italic>C. dubliniensis</jats:italic> (n = 2, 6.6%), <jats:italic>C. parapsilosis</jats:italic> (n = 2, 6.6%), <jats:italic>C. tropicalis</jats:italic> (n = 1, 3.3%), <jats:italic>C. glabrata</jats:italic> (n = 1, 3.3%) and <jats:italic>Meyerozyma caribbica</jats:italic> (n = 1, 3.3%) were isolated from 73.8% of the <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CF</jats:styled-content> patients. <jats:italic>Aspergillus terreus</jats:italic> (n = 3, 42.8%) was identified as the most common <jats:italic>Aspergillus</jats:italic> species, followed by <jats:italic>A. fumigatus</jats:italic> (n = 2, 28.5%), <jats:italic>A. oryzae</jats:italic> (n = 1, 14.2%) and <jats:italic>A. flavus</jats:italic> (n = 1, 14.2%). Bacterial and fungal co‐colonisation was detected in 7 (16.6%) and 22 (52.3%) samples that were positive for <jats:italic>Aspergillus</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Candida</jats:italic> species, respectively. However, <jats:italic>Scedosporium</jats:italic> species and <jats:italic>Exophiala dermatitidis</jats:italic> never were detected. In terms of geometric mean (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">GM</jats:styled-content>) minimum inhibitory concentrations (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">MIC</jats:styled-content>s), posaconazole (0.018 μg/mL) and caspofungin (0.083 μg/mL) exhibited the highest antifungal activities against all <jats:italic>Candida</jats:italic> species. In addition, posaconazole exhibited the lowest <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">MIC</jats:styled-content> range (0.008‐0.063 μg/mL) against all <jats:italic>Aspergillus</jats:italic> species, followed by caspofungin (0.016‐0.125 μg/mL) and voriconazole (0.125‐0.25 μg/mL). To conclude, it is essential to adopt a consistent method for the implementation of primary diagnosis and determination of treatment regimen for the <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CF</jats:styled-content> patients. However, further studies are still needed to better define the epidemiology of fungal organisms in <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CF</jats:styled-content> patients from the Middle East and the clinical significance of their isolation.</jats:p>