TRANSMISSION OF FLUCONAZOLE-RESISTANT CANDIDA-ALBICANS BETWEEN PATIENTS WITH AIDS AND OROPHARYNGEAL CANDIDIASIS DOCUMENTED BY PULSED-FIELD GEL-ELECTROPHORESIS

Electrophoretic karyotype and restriction endonuclease analysis of gen omic DNA were used for the typing of nine isolates of Candida albicans from the oral cavities of two patients with AIDS-a husband and wife-w hose infections became resistant to treatment with fluconazole (400 mg /d), The in vitro susceptibilities of sequential isolates to fluconazo le and two other triazoles, itraconazole and the investigational drug D0870, were also evaluated. DNA analysis showed that the isolates resp onsible for fluconazole-resistant episodes of oropharyngeal candidiasi s in the two patients were genetically related, In vitro susceptibilit y to fluconazole correlated well with clinical outcome, Although the m inimal inhibitory concentrations of itraconazole and D0870 for flucona zole-resistant isolates were higher than those for fluconazole-suscept ible isolates, both of the former triazoles exhibited good in vitro ac tivity against the isolates tested.