Antifungal drug susceptibility testing and resistance in Aspergillus

Aspergillus species are the most common causes of invasive mold infections in immunocompromised patients. The introduction of new antifungal agents, a nd recent reports of resistance emerging during treatment of aspergillus in fections, have highlighted the need for standardized methods of antifungal drug susceptibility testing for filamentous fungi. This review describes th e methods that are now being developed for the in vitro testing of Aspergil lus species, and the results of attempts to correlate in vitro findings wit h in vivo outcome. The mechanisms and clinical importance of resistance to the different agents used in the treatment of human aspergillosis are discu ssed.