title: Fluconazole versus amphotericin B for the prevention of fungal infection in neutropenic patients with hematologic malignancy.
abstract: Effective prophylaxis against fungal infection is important in neutropenic patients with hematologic malignancies, but the best method remains unclear. We investigated the effectiveness of fungal prophylaxis with amphotericin B or fluconazole. We reviewed the data on fungal isolates, plasma (1-->3)-beta-D glucan (beta-D glucan) levels, febrile periods (the number of days with an axillary temperature > 38 degrees C), and the duration of an axillary temperature > 38 degrees C when the neutrophil count was < 500/microliter. Of the 124 patients studied, 57 had acute myelogenous leukemia, 19 had acute lymphoblastic leukemia, 18 had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, six had chronic myeloid leukemia, three had adult T-cell leukemia, and five had chronic lymphocytic leukemia. There were no significant differences in clinical characteristics between the 70 patients treated with amphotericin B and the 54 patients given fluconazole. There was a significant decrease of fungal isolates (chi 2-test, p < 0.001), the plasma beta-D glucan level (Wilcoxon test, p = 0.0001), and the febrile period (t-test, p < 0.05) in the patients given fluconazole compared with those given amphotericin B. In neutropenic patients with hematologic malignancies, prophylaxis with fluconazole significantly decreased fungal isolation and other indicators of fungal infection when compared with amphotericin B. Fluconazole may therefore be more effective for fungal prophylaxis in these patients.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Internal Medicine, Hyogo College of Medicine, Japan. hematol@hyo-med.ac.jp
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takatsuka
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takemoto
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujimori
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tamura
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wada
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kanamaru
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kakishita
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000666:Amphotericin B / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D015725:Fluconazole / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009503:Neutropenia / Q000150:complications*; D009894:Opportunistic Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D000666:Amphotericin B; D015725:Fluconazole