Effect of Gender and Age on Voriconazole Trough Concentrations in Italian Adult Patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The broad-spectrum triazole antifungal agent, voriconazole, is widely used in the treatment of invasive fungal infections. Its treatment efficacy and the occurrence of adverse events are associated with plasma drug concentration, rendering inconsistent or inadequate dosing in many patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of gender, age, body mass index, ethnicity, serum creatinine and drug dose on voriconazole trough concentration.

METHODS

A fully validated chromatographic method was used to quantify voriconazole concentration in plasma collected from adult patients at the end of dosing interval. Associations between variables were tested using the Pearson test. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to probe the influence of categorical variables on continuous ones.

RESULTS

In a cohort of 330 Italian patients treated with voriconazole, males reported a significantly higher drug concentration than females, with values higher than 1000 ng/mL. Moreover, in the univariate analysis, a significant correlation was found between trough concentration and increasing age.

CONCLUSION

Increasing age and gender could influence voriconazole trough concentrations.