Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0019158 (hepatitis)
 30,205 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Flucytosine is an antifungal agent useful in combination with amphotericin B in the treatment of several deeply invasive mycoses. The potentially dose-limiting, hematologic, gastrointestinal, and hepatic toxicities of flucytosine lead to a reluctance to use it in myelosuppressed patients. To investigate the safety and tolerability of flucytosine in this setting, we evaluated its use in 17 patients with cancer or aplastic anemia during a 2 1/2-year period at our institution and reviewed the literature describing mechanisms of action, resistance, in vitro and in vivo antifungal activity, clinical antifungal activity, pharmacokinetics, and toxicity. The combination of amphotericin B plus flucytosine eradicated the mycosis in 12 (71%) of 17 patients, whereas 3 (18%) of 17 died of progressive fungal infection. Serial serum levels of flucytosine measured by a creatinine iminohydrolase assay permitted reliable dosage adjustment. During therapy, only 2 (12%) of 17 patients had elevated mean serum levels of flucytosine (> 100 micrograms/mL) and 3 (18%) other patients had transiently elevated levels. Paired serum samples (n = 45) obtained at steady state during therapy with orally administered flucytosine showed similar peak and trough levels. Adverse effects of flucytosine therapy included one case each of reversible nausea, diarrhea, elevated transaminase levels, and thrombocytopenia. No cases of bone marrow aplasia, enterocolitis, hepatitis, or death due to flucytosine toxicity were encountered. We conclude that flucytosine in combination with amphotericin B is well tolerated in myelosuppressed patients when serum flucytosine levels are serially monitored.
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PMID:Evolving role of flucytosine in immunocompromised patients: new insights into safety, pharmacokinetics, and antifungal therapy. 145 31

A multicenter prospective randomized trial of four versus six weeks of amphotericin B, 0.3 mg/kg per day, plus flucytosine, 150 mg/kg per day, was performed with 194 patients with cryptococcal meningitis. One or more toxic drug reactions developed in 103 patients: azotemia (51), renal tubular acidosis (two), leukopenia (30), thrombocytopenia (22), diarrhea (26), nausea/vomiting (10), and hepatitis (13). The four- and six-week regimens were complicated by toxicity in 44 percent and 43 percent of cases, respectively. Toxicity appeared during the first two weeks of therapy in 56 percent and during the first four weeks in 87 percent. Azotemia did not occur more frequently in renal transplant recipients or diabetic patients. Cytopenias did not appear more often in patients with hematologic malignancies or those receiving immunosuppressive therapies. Toxic reactions that contributed to death developed in five patients (two with azotemia, one with pancytopenia, one with hepatitis, one with ileus). Amphotericin B-induced azotemia was not a significant risk factor for the subsequent development of bone marrow, gastrointestinal, or hepatic toxicity attributable to flucytosine. Flucytosine toxicity was associated with peak serum flucytosine levels of 100 micrograms/ml or more during two or more weeks of therapy (p = 0.005). Peak 5-fluorouracil levels were not predictive of toxicity. An initial dose of flucytosine is recommended based on the creatinine clearance: 150 mg/kg per day at a creatinine clearance above 50 ml/minute, 75 mg/kg per day at a creatinine clearance of 26 to 50 ml/minute, and 37 mg/kg per day at a creatinine clearance of 13 to 25 ml/minute. The serum creatinine level should be monitored twice weekly and the creatinine clearance weekly during therapy in order to anticipate changes in serum flucytosine concentration. In addition, it is recommended that the serum flucytosine level be determined two hours after an oral dose once a week, and that the dose be adjusted to maintain a level of 50 to 100 micrograms/ml.
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PMID:Toxicity of amphotericin B plus flucytosine in 194 patients with cryptococcal meningitis. 330 26

The Authors report the clinical and microbiological findings about a 6-months follow up of 9 AIDS-patients with Cryptococcosis. Among these, 7 patients suffered from meningo-encephalitis and 2 from haematogenous infection. The fungicidal treatment during acute illness, included the administration of Amphotericin B (0.6 mg/Kg/die i.v.) plus Flucytosine (100 mg/kg/die i.v.) during the first 15 days followed from itraconazole at doses of 400 mg/die in a single administration, during the following 15 days. The chronic suppressive therapy included itraconazole at doses of 200 mg/die p.o. indefinitely. During the 6-months follow up, one patient died of polymicrobial pneumonia and another of hepatic failure related to a reactivation of a previous HCV hepatitis. In 2 patients the presence of multiple nodular lesions in the cerebral CT scan, related to cryptococcal granulomas, was associated to a persistence of positive liquoral cultures and to a poor prognosis. In 3 patients with meningo-encephalitis, the three drugs regimen was quite effective in eradicating the neurological infection and no relapses were observed during the 6-months follow up. The 2 patients with hematogenous infection alone, didn't relapse during the 6-months follow up.
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PMID:[New trends in the therapy of cryptococcosis in AIDS patients]. 1285 25