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Antifungal therapy improved outcomes for chronic pulmonary aspergillosis patients
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Antifungal therapy improved outcomes in patients with chronic pulmonary aspergillosis, according to study results published recently.
Researchers from the National Aspergillosis Centre at the University of Manchester, in the United Kingdom, reported data on 122 patients with chronic pulmonary aspergillosis who were seen over a 12-month period.
Khaled Al-shair, MD, PhD, FCCP, and colleagues used the St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire to assess patients’ health status, with a higher score indicating worse health status.
“After treatment, 47% to 50% [of the patients] gained substantial health improvement with a reduction of score of 14 at both 6 and 12 months, while 32% deteriorated with a rise of 11 and 14 scores after 6 and 12 months of treatment and observation respectively, and 21% were not much different (stable),” the researchers wrote.
The researchers said that response was often drug-dependent: “Posaconazole (Noxafil, Merck) appeared slightly better than voriconazole (Vfend, Pfizer) which in turn was better than itraconazole (Sporanox, Janssen/Ortho Biotech); 50% and 62% of our patients were improved after 6 and 12 months of posaconazole, compared with 43% and 50% with voriconazole and 39% and 43% with itraconazole.”
There were some study limitations, specifically that 15 patients with Aspergillus fumigatus infection did not complete the study; nine patients died, and six missed visits.
Disclosure: Al-Shair reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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