Caspofungin: a review of its characteristics, activity, and use in intensive care units.

In this study, characteristics of caspofungin and its using in intensive care unit (ICU) patients are reviewed based on an electronic search using pubmed and Google scholar. EXPERT OPINION: Caspofungin is a semisynthetic derivative from pneumocandin B and the first member of the echinocandins that was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to fight fungal infection. Caspofungin inhibits the enzyme β(1,3)-D-glucan synthase of the fungal cell wall resulted in inhibition of the synthesis of β(1,3)-D-glucan. Caspofungin tolerability is similar to fluconazole tolerability (but with fewer drug interactions) and may be better than that of amphotericin B. For critically ill patients, inter and intra individual variations affect the caspofungin concentration. The incidence rates and densities of candidemia in surgical ICUs may be higher than medical ICUs resulting in a higher burden of candidemia in surgical ICUs. However, the mortality rate in surgical ICU patients with candidemia is higher than that medical ICU patients due to differences in their underlying conditions. PMID: 32662712 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Expert Review of Anti-Infective Therapy - Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther Source Type: research