Resistance of Candida albicans to fluconazole during treatment of oropharyngeal candidiasis in a patient with AIDS: documentation by in vitro susceptibility testing and DNA subtype analysis

Clin Infect Dis. 1994 Feb;18(2):240-2. doi: 10.1093/clinids/18.2.240.

Abstract

We describe a patient with recurrent episodes of oropharyngeal candidiasis who required progressively higher doses of fluconazole to control and infection. The patient was treated for 14 infections over a 2-year period with doses of fluconazole that ranged from 100 to 800 mg per day. Clinical response, two methods of in vitro susceptibility testing, and molecular epidemiologic techniques were evaluated for 12 of the 14 episodes. Ultimately, the patient became unresponsive clinically to a dose of 800 mg of fluconazole per day. In vitro susceptibility testing of isolates obtained during these successive episodes of infection revealed the development of resistance to fluconazole, and molecular epidemiologic techniques confirmed the persistence of the same Candida albicans strain throughout all 12 episodes.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / complications*
  • AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / drug therapy*
  • AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / microbiology
  • Adult
  • Candida albicans / classification
  • Candida albicans / drug effects
  • Candidiasis, Oral / complications*
  • Candidiasis, Oral / drug therapy*
  • Candidiasis, Oral / microbiology
  • DNA, Fungal / classification
  • DNA, Fungal / isolation & purification
  • Drug Resistance, Microbial
  • Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field
  • Fluconazole / therapeutic use*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Recurrence

Substances

  • DNA, Fungal
  • Fluconazole