When liposomes were initially discovered more than 30 years ago, predictions were largely met with skepticism; however, recent advances have allowed the development of liposomes that are potentially medically useful. Systemic and topical drug delivery by liposomes is possible. Although liposomal amphotericin B, a systemic antifungal agent, is the only medical liposomal product commercially avai...

Rhino-orbital-cerebral mucormycosis (ROCM) is an uncommon but fatal fungal infection. We report a rare case of unilateral ROCM with ipsilateral central retinal artery occlusion and contralateral choroiditis, which later progressed to endogenous fungal endophthalmitis. The patient was successfully treated with sinuses debridement, systemic liposomal amphotericin B, and intravitreal amphotericin ...

A case of visceral leishmaniasis unresponsive to several course of treatment with standard drugs, was successfully cured by a 21 day course (50 mg/day) of liposomal amphotericin B (AmBisome, Vestar Inc.). The efficacy of the AmBisome formulation is supported by experimental studies on Leishmania donovani infected BALB/c mice where ED50 values of AmBisome and conventional amphotericin B were 0.1...

BACKGROUND Limited data are available regarding topical and systemic therapies for Leishmania tropica in children. OBJECTIVE We sought to characterize the clinical presentation and evaluate the efficacy and safety of topical and systemic treatments in pediatric patients infected with L tropica. METHODS A retrospective study was performed on 47 children with L tropica cutaneous leishmaniasis...

When a diagnosis of invasive candidiasis has been made, treatment with toxic fungicidal agents is inevitable. The crucial decision of when to stop such treatment is difficult to make, because cultures are often negative despite ongoing invasive candidiasis and can therefore not be used as a reliable parameter of effective therapy. In the present study, the use of PCR in monitoring the therapeut...

BACKGROUND Disseminated leishmaniasis (DL) is a severe and emerging form of American tegumentary leishmaniasis, associated primarily with infection by Leishmania brasiliensis. DL is defined by the presence of ≥10 mixed-type lesions such as inflammatory papules and ulcers, located in ≥2 body parts. Most patients have hundreds of lesions all over the body, and mucosal involvement is detected in u...

Concomitant use of allogeneic donor granulocyte transfusions and amphotericin B in febrile neutropenic recipients may be limited by the increased incidence of respiratory distress. In vitro effects of amphotericin B and AmBisome were compared on polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) aggregation from PMNs isolated from granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF)/dexamethasone-mobilized allogeneic ...

Background: Amphotericin B is one of the most useful therapeutic modalities for the treatment of patients with invasive fungal infections, in spite of serious side effects, namely kidney injury, electrolyte imbalances, and infusion-related reactions. The goal of this study was to assess the different aspects of premedication practice and the incidence and types of infusion-related reactions in ...

OBJECTIVE To test short course, low dose liposomal amphotericin B as single or daily infusion treatment in Indian visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar). DESIGN Randomised, open label study. SETTING Inpatient unit for leishmaniasis in Bihar, India. PARTICIPANTS 91 adults and children with splenic aspirate positive for infection. INTERVENTIONS Total dose of 5 mg/kg of liposomal amphotericin ...