Comparison of single-dose and 7-day fluconazole treatment of fungal esophagitis in alcoholic liver disease.

The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of a single-dose fluconazole treatment of fungal esophagitis in patients with alcoholic liver disease. Twenty-two alcoholic liver disease patients with fungal esophagitis were randomly assigned to receive either a single-dose of 150 mg fluconazole or a 7-day treatment of daily 50 mg fluconazole. Control esophagoscopy was performed in both groups on days 9-11. Direct smears and cultures on Sabouraud's medium were performed at both endoscopies. Patients' sera were tested for Candida antigens and for antibodies against Candida albicans on days 1, 8 and 15. Twenty patients (18 C. albicans, 1 C. tropicalis, 1 C. pseudotropicalis) completed the study, there were two drop-outs from the single-dose group. Antibodies against C. albicans were found in four cases, Candida antigens in five. There were no significant differences in the treatment outcome between the two groups, clinical cure was recorded in eight out of nine patients in the single-dose group and nine out of eleven patients in the 7-day group, mycological eradication in four out of nine, and in three out of eleven, respectively. Single-dose fluconazole treatment seems to be an effective therapy of fungal esophagitis in alcoholic liver disease patients.