Efficacy of Fluconazole in Prophylaxis and Treatment of Experimental Candida Endocarditis

The efficacy of fluconazole, a bis-triazole antifungal agent, for prophylaxis and treatment of endocarditis due to Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis is assessed in a rabbit model. Fourteen daily injections of fluconazole at doses of 20 and 10 mg/kg of body weight eradicated C. albicans and C. parapsilosis, respectively, from the cardiac vegetations in all animals tested. Amphotericin B (3 mg/kg) and flucytosine (35 mg/kg) both singly and in combination failed to achieve eradication in 100% of the animals. A two-dose prophylactic regimen of 30 mg of fluconazole/kg was consistently successful in preventing experimental endocarditis caused by C. albicans or C. parapsilosis.