Overview of studies of fluconazole in oropharyngeal candidiasis

Studies with fluconazole in oropharyngeal candidiasis have focused primarily on three groups of infections: chronic atrophic candidiasis, oropharyngeal infections associated with either neutropenia or AIDS, and chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis. In two studies of chronic atrophic candidiasis associated with dentures, 82 patients received 7 or 14 days of therapy with fluconazole (50 mg daily). Clinical and mycologic cure rates ranged from 69% to 100%, with the best results occurring with 14 days of therapy in combination with the cleansing of dentures. Thirteen patients with oroesophageal candidiasis associated with chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis were treated with 50 or 200 mg of fluconazole daily, and clinical and mycologic remissions were achieved in a mean period of 10 days. So far 95 patients have been treated with fluconazole for oropharyngeal candidiasis associated with malignancy, therapeutic immunosuppression, AIDS, or AIDS-related complex. Infection was cured by clinical criteria in 84% of those studied. While the majority of patients with clinical cure had significant reductions in the number of yeast colonies, only 48% had negative oral cultures at the end of therapy with courses of 50 mg of fluconazole daily for 5 days to 8 weeks.