New agents for invasive mycoses in children

Invasive fungal infections are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised children of all ages. This review summarizes information on new antifungal agents, including current data on their clinical use in children, as well as alternative strategies such as antifungal combination and immunomodulation therapy.

Novel antifungal agents, such as the echinocandins and the second-generation triazoles, were recently introduced that exhibit promising efficacy against Candida spp., Aspergillus spp., and other opportunistic fungal pathogens. These compounds are generally well tolerated and show substantial efficacy as salvage treatment and equal or even superior efficacy compared with older azoles or amphotericin B as first-line or empiric therapy for fungal infections. Clinical studies of pharmacokinetics and efficacy of the new agents in the pediatric population are, however, limited.

The response rates observed with the recently introduced drugs, although superior in some cases compared with older antifungal agents, are still far from satisfactory. The development of new antifungal compounds as well as the use of alternative approaches of combination therapy and immunomodulation should be pursued through well-designed laboratory and clinical studies in pediatric patients.