ROLE OF THE NEW AZOLES IN THE TREATMENT OF FUNGAL OSTEOARTICULAR INFECTIONS

Objectives: To analyze the usefulness of the new azoles for the treatm ent of fungal osteoarticular infections, and to report three cases of fungal knee arthritis treated with fluconazole in our unit, Methods: T he medical literature was reviewed for all cases of osteoarticular inf ection caused by fungi and treated with fluconazole or itraconazole re gistered in the MedLine Silver Platter database from 1972 to 1997, Res ults: The total number of patients included in this review was 56; 19 were treated with fluconazole and 37 with itraconazole. The most frequ ent causative agents implicated were fungi of the genuses Candida and Aspergillus, There were eight therapeutic failures, and there were no statistically different findings among the patients in terms of their health status, Adverse effects were unusual, Conclusions: Controlled s tudies are necessary to establish the true role of the new azole drugs in the treatment of fungal osteoarticular infections, but they seem t o be a promising therapeutic option, Copyright (C) 1998 by W,B, Saunde rs Company.