Strategies in the Treatment of Systemic Fungal Infections

Abstract

IN the past few years, there has been an increase in the number of systemic fungal infections seen in clinical practice. These infections have been of two types: those due to primary pathogens such as Coccidioides immitis, Histoplasma capsulatum, Sporothrix schenckii, Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, and Blastomyces dermatitidis; and those due to secondary or opportunistic pathogens such as Cryptococcus neoformans, Torulopsis glabrata, and species of candida, mucor, and aspergillus. The former have been appreciated as important causes of infection for many years; the latter are being recognized as major causes of disease, particularly in patients with impaired defense mechanisms. In. © 1980, Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.