Antifungal activity of caspofungin in experimental infective endocarditis caused by Candida albicans.

BACKGROUND

Infective endocarditis is a disease characterised by heart valve lesions, which exhibit extracellular matrix proteins that act as a physical barrier to prevent the passage of antimicrobial agents. The genus Candida has acquired clinical importance given that it is increasingly being isolated from cases of nosocomial infections.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the activity of caspofungin compared to that of liposomal amphotericin B against Candida albicans in experimental infective endocarditis.

METHODS

Wistar rats underwent surgical intervention and infection with strains of C. albicans to develop infective endocarditis. Three groups were formed: the first group was treated with caspofungin, the second with liposomal amphotericin B, and the third received a placebo. In vitro sensitivity was first determined to further evaluate the effect of these treatments on a rat experimental model of endocarditis by semiquantitative culture of fibrinous vegetations and histological analysis.

FINDINGS

Our semiquantitative culture of growing vegetation showed massive C. albicans colonisation in rats without treatment, whereas rats treated with caspofungin showed significantly reduced colonisation, which was similar to the results obtained with liposomal amphotericin B.

CONCLUSIONS

The antifungal activity of caspofungin is similar to that of liposomal amphotericin B in an experimental model of infective endocarditis caused by C. albicans.