Minenko S V, Zhukov N V, Chimishkian K L, Sokolova E N, Ptushkin V V
Antibiot Khimioter. 2004;49(8-9):52-6.
Infection is one of the main causes of death in patients with hemoblastoses. Within the last years there was observed an increase in the ratio of fungal infections in the structure of mortality among hematologic patients with neutropenia. The present study was aimed at comparative estimation of the efficacy of the prophylactic use of various azole antifungal agents in patients with hematologic neoplasms and severe neutropenia. The trial enrolled 88 patients comparable by the diagnosis and chemotherapy characteristics, in whom severe neutropenia developed after intensive therapy. Antifungal drugs were used prophylactically when the neutrophil count lowered below 1.0 x 10(9)/l until its increasing above 1.0 x 10(9)/l or when the signs of fungal infection were evident. Itraconazole was used in cyclodextrin solution in 30 patients in a dose of 0.2 g orally twice a day and fluconazole was used in capsules in 24 patients in a dose of 0.2 g orally once a day. The results were compared with those of the ketoconazole use in a dose of 0.2 g orally twice a day (n = 34). The frequency of fungal infection proved by the clinical documentation was 20.5% in the ketoconazole group (k) (7 out of 34 patients), 8.3% in the fluconazole group (f) (2 out of 24 patients) and 6.6% in the itraconazole group (i) (2 out of 30 patients), p (k-f) = 0.21, p (k-i) = 0.11 and p (f-i) = 0.74. The frequency of fungal infection proved by the microbiological documentation was statistically much higher in the ketoconazole group (38.2%) vs. the fluconazole group (8.3%) (p = 0.013) and the itraconazole group (6.6%) (p = 0.004). The prophylactic use of itraconazole and fluconazole was efficient in preventing development of invasive mycoses in the patients with hemoblastoses and severe neutropenia. Their efficacy was much higher than that of ketoconazole.
