Antifungal prophylaxis in liver transplant patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

We performed a meta-analysis to determine whether antifungal prophylaxis decreases infectious morbidity and mortality in liver transplant patients. We searched for randomized trials dealing with prophylaxis with systemic antifungal agents. We used a fixed effect model, with risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI); we assessed study quality for heterogeneity and publication bias. Six studies (5 double-blind), for a total of 698 patients, compared fluconazole, itraconazole, or liposomal amphotericin to placebo (5 studies) or oral nystatin. Prophylaxis reduced colonization (RR, 0.45; CI, 0.37-0.55), total proven fungal infections (RR, 0.31; CI, 0.21-0.46), which included both superficial (RR, 0.27; CI, 0.16-0.45) and invasive (RR, 0.33; CI, 0.18-0.59) infections, and mortality attributable to fungal infection (RR, 0.30; CI, 0.12-0.75). Prophylaxis did not affect overall mortality (RR, 1.06; CI, 0.69-1.64) or empiric treatment for suspected fungal infection (RR, 0.80; CI, 0.39-1.67). The beneficial effect of antifungal prophylaxis was predominantly associated with the reduction of Candida albicans infection and mortality attributable to C. albicans. Compared to controls, however, patients receiving prophylaxis experienced a higher proportion of episodes of non-albicans Candida, and in particular of C. glabrata. No beneficial effect on invasive Aspergillus infection was observed. In conclusion, our analysis shows a clear, though limited, beneficial effect of antifungal prophylaxis in liver transplant patients. Concerns about the selection of triazole-resistant Candida strains, however, are realistic, and the potential disadvantages of prophylaxis should be weighed against the established benefits.