@article{8b0ed96c488d430c93f3ea1da1ecbfc0,
title = "Efficacy and safety of caspofungin for treatment of invasive aspergillosis in patients refractory to or intolerant of conventional antifungal therapy",
abstract = "Background. Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality among immunocompromised patients. Echinocandins are novel antifungal molecules with in vitro and in vivo activity against Aspergillus species. Methods. We investigated the efficacy and safety of caspofungin in the treatment of IA. Ninety patients with IA who were refractory to or intolerant of amphotericin B, lipid formulations of amphotericin B, or triazoles were enrolled to receive caspofungin. Results. Efficacy was assessed for 83 patients who had infection consistent with definitions of IA and who received ≥1 dose of study drug. Common underlying conditions included hematologic malignancy (48% of patients), allogeneic blood and marrow transplantation (25% of patients), and solid-organ transplantation (11% of patients). Seventy-one patients (86%) were refractory to and 12 patients (14%) were intolerant of previous therapy. A favorable response to caspofungin therapy was observed in 37 (45%) of 83 patients, including 32 (50%) of 64 with pulmonary aspergillosis and 3 (23%) of 13 with disseminated aspergillosis. Two patients discontinued caspofungin therapy because of drug-related adverse events. Drug-related nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity occurred infrequently. Conclusion. Caspofungin demonstrated usefulness in the salvage treatment of IA.",
author = "Johan Maertens and Issam Raad and George Petrikkos and Marc Boogaerts and Dominik Selleslag and Petersen, {Finn B.} and Sable, {Carole A.} and Kartsonis, {Nicholas A.} and Angela Ngai and Arlene Taylor and Patterson, {Thomas F.} and Denning, {David W.} and Walsh, {Thomas J.}",
note = "Funding Information: Potential conflicts of interest. J.M. has been a consultant to Merck, Gilead Sciences, Schering-Plough, Pfizer, Vicuron, and GlaxoSmithKline and is a member of the Speakers{\textquoteright} Bureau for Merck. I.R. receives grant support from and is a member of the Speakers{\textquoteright} Bureau for Merck, Pfizer, and Fujisawa Healthcare; has received grant support from Schering-Plough, Pharmacia, Cook, Aventis, and Vicuron; and is a co-inventor of medical device technologies licensed to Cook and Horizon Medical Products, through The M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. M.B. has served as a consultant to Johnson & Johnson, Gilead Sciences, Roche, Amgen, and Merck. D.S. has served as a consultant to Aventis and Wyeth. T.F.P. receives grant support from and serves as a consultant to Merck, Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Schering-Plough, and Enzon; serves as a consultant to Fujisawa Healthcare, Microbia, J. Uriach & Cia.S.A., Basilea, Affinium Pharmaceuticals, Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, and Eisai; and speaks on behalf of Merck, Pfizer, and Fujisawa Healthcare. D.W.D. receives grant support from and serves as a consultant to Merck, Fujisawa Healthcare, Vicuron, and Oxford Glycosciences; receives grant support from Pfizer, Novartis, F2G, Sequins, and OrthoBiotech; serves as a consultant to Ranbaxy, AstraZeneca, Aventis, and Glaxo Welcome; has spoken on behalf of Gilead Sciences, Merck, Fujisawa Healthcare, and Janssen; and is a founding shareholder of F2G, a small biotech company, and a founding editor of the Aspergillus Web site (http://www.aspergillus.man.ac.uk). T.J.W. has received Cooperative Research and Development Awards from Fujisawa Healthcare and Merck. C.A.S., N.A.K., A.N., and A.T. are employees of Merck Research Laboratories. G.P. and F.B.P.: No conflict.",
year = "2004",
month = dec,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1086/423381",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "39",
pages = "1563--1571",
journal = "Clinical Infectious Diseases",
issn = "1058-4838",
publisher = "Oxford University Press",
number = "11",
}