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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, September 2002, p. 2982-2989, Vol. 46, No. 9
0066-4804/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AAC.46.9.2982-2989.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

In Vitro Interaction of Flucytosine Combined with Amphotericin B or Fluconazole against Thirty-Five Yeast Isolates Determined by both the Fractional Inhibitory Concentration Index and the Response Surface Approach

D. T. A. Te Dorsthorst,1,2 P. E. Verweij,2 J. Meletiadis,2 M. Bergervoet,2 N. C. Punt,3 J. F. G. M. Meis,1 and J. W. Mouton1*

Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Canisius Wilhelmina Hospital,1 Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Nijmegen, Nijmegen,2 Medimatics, Maastricht, The Netherlands3

Received 24 September 2001/ Returned for modification 2 February 2002/ Accepted 31 May 2002

Combination therapy could be of benefit for the treatment of invasive yeast infections. However, in vitro interaction studies are relatively scarce and the interpretation of the fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) index can be contradictory due to various definitions used; not all information on the interaction study is used in the index, and different MIC end points exist for different classes of drugs. Fitting an interaction model to the whole response surface and estimation of an interaction coefficient alpha (IC{alpha}) would overcome these objections and has the additional advantage that confidence intervals of the interaction are obtained. The efficacy of flucytosine (5FC) in combination with amphotericin B (AB) and fluconazole (FCZ) was studied against 35 yeast isolates in triplicate (Candida albicans [n = 9], Candida glabrata [n = 9], Candida krusei [n = 9], and Cryptococcus neoformans [n = 8]) using a broth microdilution checkerboard method and measuring growth after 48 h by a spectrophotometer. The FIC index and IC{alpha} were determined, the latter by estimation from the response surface approach described by Greco et al. (W. R. Greco, G. Bravo, and J. C. Parsons, Pharmacol. Rev. 47:331-385, 1995) by using a computer program developed for that purpose. For the 5FC-FCZ combination, the interactions determined by the IC{alpha} generally were in concordance with the interactions determined by the FIC index, but large discrepancies were found between both methods for the 5FC-AB combination. These could mainly be explained by shortcomings in the FIC approach. The in vitro interaction of 5FC-AB demonstrated variable results depending on the tested Candida isolate. In general, the 5FC-FCZ combination was antagonistic against Candida species, but for some Candida isolates synergism was found. For C. neoformans the interaction for both combinations was highly dependent on the tested isolate and the method used. Response surface approach is an alternative method for determining the interaction between antifungal agents. By using this approach, some of the problems encountered with the FIC were overcome.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Canisius Wilhelmina Hospital, Weg door Jonkerbos 100, 6532 SZ Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Phone: 31-(0) 24-3657514. Fax: 31-(0) 24-3657516. E-mail: mouton{at}cwz.nl.


Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, September 2002, p. 2982-2989, Vol. 46, No. 9
0066-4804/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AAC.46.9.2982-2989.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.




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