Antifungal treatment with echinocandins: a 10-year clinical experience

The number of studies evaluating the use of echinocandins, whether or not its indication meets international guidelines, in clinical practice is limited. The objective of the present study was to determine the use of echinocandins in a tertiary Spanish hospital in 10 years of clinical practice, and to evaluate its impact on prognosis.

This retrospective study involved adult nonneutropenic ill patients with suspicion of fungal invasion who started treatment with echinocandins between 2006 and 2015.

The number of patients treated with echinocandins was 153, and candidemia was detected thereafter in 25.5%. Factors associated with in-hospital mortality in patients receiving echinocandins were: sex male, septic shock, Charlson comorbidity index, and total stay at the hospital. In-hospital mortality after 7, 30 and 90 days was 13.7%, 24.8%, and 56.8%, respectively. From patients receiving echinocandins, 98 did no show multifocal colonization, 50 had Candida score <2.5, and 49 did not meet Ostrosky-Zeichner prediction rule. A total of 19 patients did not show any of these 3 potential risk factors for candidemia.

The use of echinocandins in 10 years of clinical practice in our tertiary hospital has been performed according to international guidelines; however, candidemia was only diagnosed thereafter in only 25.5% of cases. Furthermore, according to our results, the adequate use of echinocandins seems not to be associated with reduced mortality rates. Further studies, involving a large cohort of patients and more hospitals, are required to corroborate these results.