Comparison of newer antifungal agents

October 2005

Invasive fungal infections in immunocompromised patients have been increasing in frequency and severity. Several new antifungal medications to combat these infections have become available in the last few years.

These agents differ in antifungal spectrum of activity as well as in mechanism of action, adverse effects and drug interactions. These differences should be considered when choosing antifungal therapy. The role of these agents, alone or in combination, in treating invasive fungal infections is still being defined.

To view a table comparing four of the newer antifungal agents, click here.

Please note: This table is stored in Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) format, and requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader software application for reading. The application is available for download at no charge, and is available in various formats (stand alone, plug-in) for most of the major operating systems.
Get Adobe Acrobat now.

These new antifungal agents are welcome additions to combat invasive fungal infections. These newer agents have broad spectrums of activity and differing mechanisms of action. Consideration should be given to each agent’s potential adverse effects and drug interactions in selecting an antifungal agent.

This article first appeared in Hem/Onc Today, a sister publication of Infectious Disease News.

For more information:

• Boucher HW, Groll AH, Chiou CC, Walsh TJ. Newer systemic antifungal agents: pharmacokinetics, safety and efficacy. Drugs. 2004; 64:1997-2020.

About the author:

• Lisa K. Lohr, PharmD, is a clinical pharmacy specialist in oncology at Fairview University Medical Center in Minneapolis.