Toward the Standardization of Mycological Examination of Sputum Samples in Cystic Fibrosis: Results from a French Multicenter Prospective Study.

Fungal respiratory colonization of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients emerges as a new concern; however, the heterogeneity of mycological protocols limits investigations. We first aimed at setting up an efficient standardized protocol for mycological analysis of CF sputa that was assessed during a prospective, multicenter study: "MucoFong" program (PHRC-06/1902). Sputa from 243 CF patients from seven centers in France were collected over a 15-month period and submitted to a standardized protocol based on 6 semi-selective media. After mucolytic pretreatment, sputa were plated in parallel on cycloheximide-enriched (ACT37), erythritol-enriched (ERY37), benomyl dichloran-rose bengal (BENO37) and chromogenic (CAN37) media incubated at 37 °C and on Sabouraud-chloramphenicol (SAB27) and erythritol-enriched (ERY27) media incubated at 20-27 °C. Each plate was checked twice a week during 3 weeks. Fungi were conventionally identified; time for detection of fungal growth was noted for each species. Fungal prevalences and media performances were assessed; an optimal combination of media was determined using the Chi-squared automatic interaction detector method. At least one fungal species was isolated from 81% of sputa. Candida albicans was the most prevalent species (58.8%), followed by Aspergillus fumigatus (35.4%). Cultivation on CAN37, SAB27, ACT37 and ERY27 during 16 days provided an optimal combination, detecting C. albicans, A. fumigatus, Scedosporium apiospermum complex and Exophiala spp. with sensitivities of 96.5, 98.8, 100 and 100%. Combination of these four culture media is recommended to ensure the growth of key fungal pathogens in CF respiratory specimens. The use of such consensual protocol is of major interest for merging results from future epidemiological studies.

Effect of cyamemazine on the steady-state plasma concentrations of risperidone and 9-hydroxyrisperidone: a preliminary retrospective study.

Administration of cyamemazine, an antipsychotic drug with anxiolytic properties, together with other antipsychotic agents is common in patients with schizophrenia. This retrospective study investigated the effects of cyamemazine on the steady-state plasma concentrations of risperidone and 9-hydroxyrisperidone in 47 patients treated with 1 to 12 mg/day of risperidone. Of these 47 patients, 24 were receiving cyamemazine comedication ("cyamemazine" group) and 23 patients were treated with risperidone alone ("control" group). Plasma concentrations were measured using a high-performance liquid chromatographic method with photodiode-array ultraviolet detection. The median plasma concentration of risperidone was significantly higher in the cyamemazine group (31.5 ng/mL) than in the control group (5.0 ng/mL), whereas the 9-hydroxyrisperidone median concentration was significantly lower in the cyamemazine group (16.5 ng/mL versus 39.0 ng/mL in the control group). However, the sum of risperidone plus 9-hydroxyrisperidone (active moiety) plasma concentration was not significantly affected by cyamemazine comedication. A combination with cyamemazine resulted in an inverted metabolic ratio (risperidone/9-hydroxyrisperidone). These findings suggest that cyamemazine inhibits the 9-hydroxylation of risperidone and is probably an inhibitor of cytochrome P450 2D6 as are many other phenothiazine drugs.