EARLY AMBISOME IN FEBRILE NEUTROPENIA IN PATIENTS WITH HEMATOLOGICAL DISORDERS

Our previous experiences with liposomal amphotericin have suggested th at it is an effective antifungal agent in neutropaenic patients with r elatively few toxicity problems compared with conventional amphoterici n B. This interim report presents early data from a single-centre, pro spective randomised study with AmBisome. The study was designed to com pare the early initiation of AmBisome in febrile neutropaenic patients (with haematological malignancy) with its later use, and to examine t he efficacy and toxicity of different doses of this antifungal agent, Our experiences from the first 137 patients recruited (n = 200) are di scussed, in addition to some of the difficulties that have arisen duri ng the study.