Drug Ther Bull. 2004 Jan;42(1):5-8.
Systemic fungal infections are difficult to treat and often fatal. Established treatment options include conventional amphotericin B or one of its lipid-based or liposomal formulations, or a triazole antifungal such as fluconazole or itraconazole. [symbol: see text]Caspofungin (Cancidas--Merck Sharp & Dohme) and [symbol: see text]voriconazole (Vfend--Pfizer) are two new antifungals for severe infections caused by Candida spp. (invasive candidiasis) and Aspergillus spp. (invasive aspergillosis). Caspofungin is the first licensed echinocandin antifungal, while voriconazole is a triazole. Promotional claims for caspofungin include that it "provides an effective, yet less toxic, alternative to amphotericin B" while voriconazole is claimed to offer "significantly improved survival in invasive aspergillosis compared with amphotericin B". Here we consider the place of caspofungin and voriconazole in managing patients with severe fungal infections.
全身性真菌感染难以治疗，且往往会致命。既定的治疗选择包括传统的两性霉素B或其脂质体或脂质配方制剂之一，或三唑类抗真菌药，如氟康唑或伊曲康唑。卡泊芬净（Cancidas——默克雪兰诺公司）和伏立康唑（Vfend——辉瑞公司）是用于治疗由念珠菌属（侵袭性念珠菌病）和曲霉属（侵袭性曲霉病）引起的严重感染的两种新型抗真菌药。卡泊芬净是首个获得许可的棘白菌素类抗真菌药，而伏立康唑是一种三唑类药物。关于卡泊芬净的推广宣传称其“为两性霉素B提供了一种有效但毒性较小的替代药物”，而伏立康唑据称“与两性霉素B相比，可显著提高侵袭性曲霉病患者的生存率”。在此，我们探讨卡泊芬净和伏立康唑在治疗严重真菌感染患者中的地位。
