Patients infected with the multidrug-resistant fungus were "characterized by significant underlying morbidity and disease burden," the study authors write.
The higher death rate was likely driven by strained healthcare systems amid the pandemic and more patients susceptible to Candida species because of severe COVID-19, the researchers say.
Hospital researchers say the observed increase in clinical cases of the multidrug-resistant fungus mirrors national trends.
Expanded screening criteria helped a New York City hospital identify more patients who were colonized with the multidrug-resistant fungus.
Incidence of C auris infection and colonization tripled at Mount Sinai Hospital from 2019 through 2022.
Only 37% of infectious diseases practitioners said their facility screens patients for the drug-resistant fungus.
Four colonization cases have been reported in patients with links to the same long-term acute-care hospital.
Quaternary-ammonium disinfectants, which are widely used in US hospitals, were less effective.
One study finds a significant increase in C auris bloodstream infections in US hospitals.
Rise of the multidrug-resistant fungal pathogen was driven primarily by COVID-19 surges and mechanical ventilation, the authors say.
