Efficacy of ravueonazole in treatment of mucosal candidosis in SCID mice

A model of orogastric candidosis in SCID mice, which mimics disease seen in AIDS patients, was used to evaluate ravuconazole in comparison with flucon azole for treatment. Mice were infected orally with Candida albicans and re ceived either no treatment or oral treatment once daily for 12 days with 1, 5, or 25 mg of ravuconazole per kg of body weight per day, 5 or 25 mg of f luconazole per kg per day, or diluent (10% dimethyl sulfoxide in 0.5% carbo xymethyl cellulose). The numbers of C. albicans CFU in the esophagus, stoma ch, small intestine, and cecum on day 25 in mice given no treatment and dil uent were equivalent. Both doses of fluconazole significantly reduced numbe rs of CFU in all four tissues but were equivalent to each other. Ravuconazo le showed dose-responsive improvement of clearance of CFU. Ravuconazole at 25 mg/kg was superior in reduction of numbers of CFU in all tissues to cont rols or 25 mg of fluconazole per kg and to other regimens in at least three tissues. Fluconazole at 25 mg/kg cured no infection in any tissue, whereas 25 mg of ravuconazole/kg cleared infection in all tissues from 50% of mice . Ravuconazole has good efficacy and the potential to cure mucosal candidos is in the absence of a functional immune response.