Comparison of the antifungal effect of voriconazole and fluconazole on oral candidiasis before and during radiotherapy
Zahra Golestannejad1, Faezeh Khozeimeh1, Parvin Dehghan2, Nadia Najafizade3, Elham Faghihian1, Mahnaz Kheirkhah4, Leila Sadeghalbanaei5, Mina Jamshidi6, Ahmad Amiri Chermahini7
1 Dental Research Center, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine, Dental Research Institute, School of Dentistry, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran 2 Department of Mycology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran 3 Department of Radiation Oncology, Isfahan Medical Science University, Isfahan, Iran 4 Department of Mycology and Parasitology, School of Medicine, Isfahan university of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran 5 Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran 6 Department of Periodontics, School of Dentistry, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran 7 Department of Endodontics, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Leila Sadeghalbanaei Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan Iran
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/1735-3327.361359
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Background: Head-and-neck radiotherapy can change oral Candida species and cause candidiasis resistance to common antifungals by making the changes to the oral cavity environment. Voriconazole is a synthetic azole with extensive antifungal activity. The current study aimed at comparing the antifungal activity of fluconazole and voriconazole on Candida species isolated from the oral cavity of patients undergoing head-and-neck radiotherapy.
Materials and Methods: The present in vitro study was performed on samples isolated from patients undergoing head-and-neck radiotherapy, before and during radiotherapy. After the identification of the species, the antifungal effect of fluconazole and voriconazole was determined by the microdilution method, and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), the minimum fungicidal concentration, and the antifungal susceptibility of the isolated strains were also measured. The data were analyzed by the Chi-squared and then two-sided Fisher's exact tests. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: The study findings showed no significant difference in the susceptibility of Candida albicans to voriconazole and fluconazole before and during radiotherapy. Before radiotherapy, both voriconazole and fluconazole had similar effects on Candida tropicalis, but after radiotherapy, voriconazole was less effective. However, both before and during radiotherapy, fluconazole had a greater antifungal effect than voriconazole on Candida glabrata strains. The MICs of voriconazole and fluconazole for both Candida parapsilosis and Candida krusei isolates were within the susceptible or dose-dependent range.
Conclusion: The current study results showed that voriconazole was not more effective than fluconazole in the treatment of oral candidiasis in patients undergoing head-and-neck radiotherapy.
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