Agentes antifúngicos. Generalidades
Year: 2001
Type: article
Abstract: The immunocompromised patient population is increasing every year. It has been attributed to the increased use of newer and more effective antibacterial agents, the AIDS pandemic, and the rapidly expanding number of chemically induced immunosuppression patients. As a result of improved management protocols, AIDS, cancer, and transplantation populations now survive longer andbecome highly susceptible to life-threatening fungal infections. Fungi are emerging as important nosocomial pathogens that cause severe morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients. In addition to Candida app., new fungal pathogens such as Fusarium spp ., Trichosporon beigelii, the zygomycetes, dzmatiaceous fungi, and other usually nonpathogenic fungi recognized as laboratory contaminants are being recognized as significant problems in some patients. The pathogenic opportunistic fungi are frequently found in patients with chemically induced immunosuppression and in patients with AIDS. The antifungal agents to treat these infections are only a few and their widespread use has led to the development of drug resistance. In order to be useful clinically, in vitro susceptibility testing should give a reliable prediction of in vivo response to therapy in human infections. Unfortunately, the evidence for clinical correlation with in vitro antifungal susceptibility tests is limited at best. This is not surprising, give the problema with in vitro susceptibility testing methods and the difficulties encountered in interpreting the outcome of therapy in the very complex patients involved. The new millennium has begun with more invasive fungal infectionsand will be necessary the development of new strategies for control of drug resistance. The development of new antifungal drugs is considered the strategy with the most significant future impact to confront this complex problem.
Authors: Yanelis Iznaga Sosa, Carlos Vallín Plous
Language: Spanish
Subfield: Infectious Diseases
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W20406259