• Federico Pea.
• Department of Experimental and Clinical Medical Sciences, University of Udine, Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Santa Maria della Misericordia, Udine, Italy +39 0432 559833 +39 0432 559819 pea.federico@aoud.sanita.fvg.it.
• Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther. 2013 Oct 1;11(10):989-97.

AbstractCandida infections represent challenging causes of severe sepsis and/or of septic shock in the critically ill patients. Knowledge of current pharmacological concepts may promote a more wise use of echinocandins in the management of Candida infections in this setting. Echinocandins have some advantages over azoles, both pharmacodynamically (rapid fungicidal activity, anti-biofilm activity, unmodified activity against Candida isolates with decreased susceptibility to azoles and anti-cytokine/anti-chemokine activity) and pharmacokinetically (low interindividual variability, low potential for drug-drug interactions), that may influence the timing and the choice of therapy of Candida diseases in the critically ill patients. However, concerns exist in regards to the feasibility of fixed dosing regimens of echinocandins in all of the different patient populations and in regards to the effectiveness of echinocandin monotherapy in some clinical settings. In presence of deep-seated infections, voriconazole or liposomal amphotericin B may be valuable alternatives or add-on therapy.

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