TY  - JOUR
A1  - Wissing, Heimo
A1  - Ballus, Jose
A1  - Bingold, Tobias Michael
A1  - Nocea, Gonzalo
A1  - Krobot, Karl J.
A1  - Kaskel, Peter
A1  - Kumar, Ritesh N.
A1  - Mavros, Panagiotis
T1  - Intensive care unit-related fluconazole use in Spain and Germany: patient characteristics and outcomes of a prospective multicenter longitudinal observational study
T2  - Infection and drug resistance
N2  - Background: Candida spp. are a frequent cause of nosocomial bloodstream infections worldwide.
Objective: To evaluate the use patterns and outcomes associated with intravenous (IV) fluconazole therapy in intensive care units in Spain and Germany.
Patients and methods: The research reported here was a prospective multicenter longitudinal observational study in adult intensive care unit patients receiving IV fluconazole. Demographic, microbiologic, therapy success, length of hospital stay, adverse event, and all-cause mortality data were collected at 14 sites in Spain and five in Germany, from February 2004 to November 2005.
Results: Patients (n = 303) received prophylaxis (n = 29), empiric therapy (n = 140), preemptive therapy (n = 85), or definitive therapy (n = 49). A total of 298 patients (98.4%) were treated with IV fluconazole as first-line therapy. The treating physicians judged therapy successful in 66% of prophylactic, 55% of empiric, 45% of preemptive, and 43% of definitive group patients. In the subgroup of 152 patients with proven and specified Candida infection only, 32% suffered from Candida specified as potentially resistant to IV fluconazole. The overall mortality rate was 42%.
Conclusion: Our study informs treatment decision makers that approximately 32% of the patients with microbiological results available suffered from Candida specified as potentially resistant to IV fluconazole, highlighting the importance of appropriate therapy.
KW  - antifungal agents
KW  - Candida
KW  - fungal infection
KW  - therapy
Y1  - 2013
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/26789
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-267894
SN  - 1178-6973
N1  - © 2013 Wissing et al, publisher and licensee Dove Medical Press Ltd. This is an Open Access article
which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, provided the original work is properly cited.
VL  - 6
SP  - 15
EP  - 25
PB  - Dove Medical Press
CY  - Albany, Auckland
ER  -