Safety, tolerance, and efficacy of posaconazole therapy in patients with nonmeningeal disseminated or chronic pulmonary coccidioidomycosis.
BACKGROUND
Coccidioidomycosis can be difficult to treat with available therapies, particularly in patients with progressive or disseminated disease. Posaconazole is a new azole antifungal with potent activity against Coccidioides species, the causative agent of coccidioidomycosis.


METHODS
Twenty patients with chronic pulmonary or nonmeningeal disseminated coccidioidomycosis were enrolled in a multicenter trial to study the safety and tolerability of posaconazole therapy, with efficacy as a secondary end point. Patients received posaconazole (400 mg/day) in capsule formulation for up to 6 months. Safety was evaluated on the basis of the occurrence of adverse events. A satisfactory efficacy response was defined as a >or=50% reduction in the Mycoses Study Group score from baseline.


RESULTS
Seventeen (85%) of 20 patients had a satisfactory response to treatment. The median duration of treatment was 173 days. Paired baseline and end-of-treatment culture results for Coccidioides species were available for 4 patients, all of whom converted from being positive to being negative for Coccidioides species. Relapse was experienced by 3 of 9 patients who did not receive antifungal therapy during the follow-up period. In general, posaconazole therapy was well tolerated, with 12 of 20 patients reporting adverse events that were possibly or probably related to treatment. The most common adverse events were dry mouth (in 5 patients [25%]) and headache (in 3 patients [15%]).


CONCLUSIONS
Courses of posaconazole therapy that were up to 6 months in duration were well tolerated in patients with coccidioidomycosis. Although this study was limited by the number of patients enrolled, it clearly demonstrates that posaconazole shows promise in the treatment of patients with coccidioidomycosis and warrants additional investigation in a full-scale clinical trial.
Catanzaro
Antonino
A
University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA 92103, USA. acatanzaro@ucsd.edu
Cloud
Gretchen A
GA
Stevens
David A
DA
Levine
Bernard E
BE
Williams
Paul L
PL
Johnson
Royce H
RH
Rendon
Adrian
A
Mirels
Laurence F
LF
Lutz
Jon E
JE
Holloway
Melissa
M
Galgiani
John N
JN
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003047:Coccidioidomycosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008172:Lung Diseases, Fungal / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014230:Triazoles / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000935:Antifungal Agents; D014230:Triazoles; C101425:posaconazole