EFFICACY OF CONTINUOUS FLUCYTOSINE INFUSION AGAINST CANDIDA-LUSITANIAE IN EXPERIMENTAL HEMATOGENOUS MURINE CANDIDIASIS

Candida lusitaniae may cause life-threatening infections in the immuno compromised host and may be resistant to amphotericin B. Flucytosine ( 5-FC) is very active against C. lusitaniae isolates in vitro, while th e in vivo response of murine infection to 5-FC is not as good. To eval uate the hypothesis that this discrepancy may be primarily due to the short half-life of 5-FC in mice, we compared the same total dosage of 75 mg of 5-FC per kg of body weight per day given by bolus injections or infused continuously via a subcutaneously implanted pump in immunos uppressed CF1 mice infected with C. lusitaniae. The fungal titers in t he kidneys of mice treated with the continuous 5-FC infusion were sign ificantly lower (P less than or equal to 0.05) than those in the kidne ys of mice that received bolus injections once or thrice daily. The an tifungal activity of 5-FC against murine candidiasis is best evaluated when the drug is administered by continuous infusion.