Antifungal activity of a new triazole, voriconazole (UK-109496), against clinical isolates of Aspergillus spp.

Abstract

Voriconazole is a new triazole antifungal agent with potent activity against yeast and molds. We investigated the in-vitro activity of voriconazole compared with that of other antifungal agents against 50 clinical isolates of Aspergillus spp., measured by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) reference method described in the M27-A document, and by an alamar blue colorimetric method. Voriconazole was the most potent agent against Aspergillus fumigatus (minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC]₉₀, 0.5 mg/l) and Aspergillus niger (MIC₉₀, 1.0 mg/l). Voriconazole was less active (MIC₉₀, 1.0 mg/l) against Aspergillus flavus than itraconazole (MIC₉₀, 0.5 mg/l). Voriconazole was more active than itraconazole against Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus flavus by the alamar blue indicator method for the measurement of MIC. Based on these results, voriconazole has promising activity against commonly encountered isolates of Aspergillus spp., and its clinical usefulness should be established by further studies.