Systemic candidiasis

January 2005     View PDF     En español

Diagnosis

Oral, vaginal and skin infections are usually diagnosed by appearance and symptoms. Lab tests are usually performed if the infection does not clear up after treatment.

If a person with thrush has problems swallowing (food “gets stuck”) and/or has bad chest pain, he or she may also have esophageal infection. If symptoms do not improve with treatment, or if someone has problems swallowing but does not have thrush, an endoscopy is usually performed. This is when a doctor uses a small tube to look into the esophagus.

Systemic candidiasis is very difficult to diagnose. Candida in the blood may come from a local infection (like the mouth or site of a catheter) as well as from infection of internal organs. Candida may only briefly be present in the blood when an internal organ is infected, therefore a blood test result is not always reliable.