The influence of hypoxia on the in vitro activities of amphotericin B, azoles, and echinocandins against Aspergillus spp. was evaluated by comparing MICs, minimal fungicidal concentrations (MFCs), and epidemiological cutoffs (ECOFFs). Changes of MIC distributions due to hypoxia largely depend on the method, the species, and the growth ability under hypoxia. The activities of antifungals were no...

The term “multidrug-resistant Candida” has been used loosely in the mycology literature since the early 2000s [1–4]. In 2009, the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute subcommittee on antifungal susceptibility testing formally adopted the term, defining multidrug resistance in Candida as resistance or lack of susceptibility to at least 1 drug in 2 or more antifungal classes (unpublished d...

The Platelia Aspergillus antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (Bio-Rad, Marnes-la-Coquette, France) has become an important tool for the early detection of invasive aspergillosis in immunocompromised patients (4). This ELISA uses a rat monoclonal antibody (EB-A2) which reacts with -(1,5)-galactofuranose, a side chain of galactomannan (GM). Cross-reactivity of the Platelia ELISA wit...

The effects of protein binding on the activities of caspofungin, anidulafungin, and micafungin were evaluated against Candida and Aspergillus species. Adding human serum sharply increased the MICs of micafungin and anidulafungin and modestly affected the MIC of caspofungin. The increase in MICs does not appear consistent with the rate of protein binding for the three compounds.

Molecular identification and in vitro antifungal susceptibility tests of 43 Aspergillus section Nigri isolates from China were performed. Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus tubingensis were present in almost equal numbers. All of the isolates had low MIC/MECs (minimum effective concentrations) for the 7 common antifungals, and a paradoxical effect was observed for the first time in response to c...

Antifungal resistance represents a major clinical challenge to clinicians responsible for treating invasive fungal infections due to the limited arsenal of systemically available antifungal agents. In addition current drugs may be limited by drug-drug interactions and serious adverse effects/toxicities that prevent their prolonged use or dosage escalation. Fluconazole resistance is of particula...