Antifungal agents in children.
Author(s): Steinbach WJ
Affiliation(s): Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. stein002@mc.duke.edu
Publication date & source: 2005-06, Pediatr Clin North Am., 52(3):895-915, viii.
Publication type: Review
Fungal pathogens are an increasingly recognized complication of organ transplantation and the ever more potent chemotherapeutic regimens for childhood malignancies. This article provides a brief overview of the current state of systemic antifungal therapy. Currently licensed drugs, including amphotericin B and its lipid derivates; 5-fluorocytosine; the azoles, including fluconazole, itraconazole, and voriconazole; and a representative of the new class of echinocandin agents, caspofungin, are discussed. Newer second-generation azoles (posaconazole and ravuconazole) and echinocandins (micafungin and anidulafungin) that are likely to be licensed in the United States in the next few years also are addressed.
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