Itraconazole therapy in lymphangitic and cutaneous sporotrichosis

Itraconazole, a new orally absorbable azole derivative, was used for the treatment of 17 patients with cutaneous and lymphangitic sporotrichosis. The drug, administered at a dose of 100 mg/day, proved to be effective in all cases. Lesions disappeared and cultures became negative after 90 to 180 days of therapy. There were no major side effects. Posttherapy evaluations, done in 14 of 17 cases for an average of 115 days, revealed no relapses. Objective evaluation of the treatment by means of a scoring system indicated complete resolution of the pretherapy abnormalities at varying periods; thus, 35.3% (six of 17) of the patients had recovered by 90 days, 45.4% (five of 11) by 120 days, and 83.3% (five of six) by 150 days of therapy. Consequently, therapy with itraconazole is an adequate alternative to iodide treatment in sporotrichosis.