We determined the in vitro interactions between echinocandins and azoles against 10 multidrug-resistant Candida auris strains by use of a microdilution checkerboard technique. Our results suggest synergistic interactions between micafungin and voriconazole with fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) values of 0.15 to 0.5, and we observed indifferent interactions when micafungin was co...

Invasive fungal infection (IFI) is a serious and common complication in hematological patients. The risk is highest among acute leukemia patients undergoing induction chemotherapy and patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation. Owing to the difficulty in diagnosing IFIs and the fatality rate associated with delayed treatment, antifungal prophylaxis and empirical anti...

Whether isavuconazole, an extended-spectrum triazole, possesses synergistic activity in combination therapy with echinocandins or amphotericin B for the treatment of invasive molds infections has not been studied. Our in vitro combination studies showed that isavuconazole and micafungin are synergistically active against Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus terreus, and Cunnin...

This Special Issue is designed to highlight the latest research and development on new antifungal compounds with mechanisms of action different from the ones of polyenes, azoles, and echinocandins. The papers presented here highlight new pathways and targets that could be exploited for the future development of new antifungal agents to be used alone or in combination with existing antifungals. ...

We report two episodes of recurrent candidemia caused by echinocandin-resistant Candida glabrata in a 69-year-old patient who underwent repeated abdominal surgery. In the first episode of candidemia, an echinocandin-susceptible Candida glabrata strain was isolated, and the patient was treated with caspofungin. The isolates from the later episodes showed resistance to echinocandins. Analysis of ...

We report 20 episodes of infection caused by acquired echinocandin-resistant Candida spp. harboring diverse and new Fksp mutations. For 12 patients, initial isolates (low MIC, wild-type Fksp sequence) and subsequent isolates (after caspofungin treatment, high MIC, mutated Fksp) were genetically related.

We describe a case of bloodstream infection caused by a Candida krusei strain that developed echinocandin resistance during caspofungin therapy. Three mutations were found in the HS1 region of the fks1 gene, two of them have never been reported either in C. krusei nor in C. albicans.

Echinocandins have become the drug of choice in infections caused by Candida glabrata. The objective of this study was to evaluate the in vitro activity of caspofungin alone and in combination against C. glabrata. In vitro assays demonstrated that caspofungin alone showed excellent fungicidal activity against C. glabrata, including fluconazole-resistant strains. The combination of caspofungin a...

The in vitro antifungal susceptibility of 77 isolates belonging to different clinically relevant species of Aspergillus section Flavi, including those of different phylogenetic clades of A. flavus, was tested for nine antifungal agents using a microdilution reference method (CLSI, M38-A2). Terbinafine and the echinocandins demonstrated lower MICs/MECs for all species evaluated, followed by posa...

Trichosporon asahii is an emerging opportunistic pathogen that is life-threatening particularly for immunosuppressed patients. Only a few studies have described Trichosporon infection in kidney transplant recipients. This study reports a 67-year-old male kidney transplant recipient who developed fatal fungemia and pneumonia caused by T. asahii during caspofungin treatment. Although funguria is ...