Antifungal therapy and the new azole compounds.

At present there are weaknesses in the range and scope of antifungal chemotherapy. The development of a new group of azole drugs, the triazoles, has introduced antifungal agents with broad-spectrum activity which can be given by the oral route. Fluconazole is very well absorbed and has good penetration. While its principal activity is against yeasts and there are clinical data to support its use in candida and cryptococcus infections, little work has been completed on its clinical use in aspergillosis. Itraconazole is less well absorbed, but highly bound in tissue. Its spectrum of activity is somewhat broader than that of fluconazole and it is clinically active against superficial mycoses and some of the infections caused by pathogenic fungi such as Histoplasma capsulatum. There is some early evidence of efficacy in aspergillosis but more studies are required in neutropenic patients. Both drugs show promise but comparative assessments are sorely needed.