title: Fluconazole in the treatment of pulmonary zygomycosis.
abstract: Pulmonary zygomycosis is an aggressive, often terminal infection that may be found in patients who are immunocompromised as a result of cytotoxic chemotherapy. Conventional treatment is by surgical debridement augmented with high-dose intravenous amphotericin B, but even with such treatment the course is usually fulminant with a high mortality rate. Recent work has suggested that the new antifungal triazole, fluconazole, may be of benefit in treating zygomycete infection. The case of a 15-year-old boy who developed pulmonary zygomycosis while on chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, and who survived for 11 months with oral fluconazole therapy alone, is supportive of this proposal.
authors.affiliation: Department of Histopathology, Women's and Children's Hospital, North Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Koszyca
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ellis
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Toogood
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Byard
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D015725:Fluconazole / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008172:Lung Diseases, Fungal / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D009091:Mucormycosis / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009894:Opportunistic Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D015725:Fluconazole