The present study aimed to 1) determine the colonization rates of medically important Trichosporon
species on normal perigenital skin and 2) determine the isolation rates of Trichosporon spp. isolated from
the urine and catheters of Brazilian patients hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The overall
colonization rate of Trichosporon spp. was 11.15% (112 isolates). The most common species isolated from
normal perigenital skin was T. cutaneum (29.46%), followed by T. asteroides (20.53%), T. ovoides
(15.17%), T. inkin (10.71%), T. mucoides (8.92%), and T. asahii (6.25%). From urine and catheters, T.
asahii was the species most commonly isolated (76.5%; n =23), followed by T. inkin (16.6%; n = 5) and T.
asteroides (6.6%; n = 2). In addition, the highest isolation rate occurred in subjects in the 71- to 80-yearold
age range (36.7%; n= 11), followed by 61 to 70 (26.7%; n = 8), 51 to 60 (13.3%; n = 4), 31 to 40
(13.33%; n = 4), and 41 to 50 (10%; n =3). We concluded that 6 medically important species of the genus
Trichosporon colonize the perigenital region in a normal population. The identification of these species is
possible by means of classical methods but often requires repeated analyses repetitions due to difficulties
in the assimilation process. In contrast, only 3 species of Trichosporon were isolated from urine and
catheters.
