ABSTRACT
5-fluorocytosine has been one of the most used antimycotics in the therapeutics of mycosis, however the appearance of resistant strains may be an important limitant for its use. That's why it is necessary to know the sensitivity to this drug. To this end, it was determined the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 5-fluorocytosine against 50 clinical isolates of Candida albicans by a micromethod of dilution in RPMI 1640 media, comparing 2 reading methods. The values of the geometrical mean obtained were 0.95 mg/mL for the visual reading and 0.75 mg/mL for the automated reading. There were no significant differences between them (p < 0.05). Pearson's lineal correlation coefficient was r = 0.81. It indicates that although there was a good correlation, there was also discrepancy between both readings. The IMC50 was of 0.5 microgram/mL and the IMC90 of 4 mg/mL. 90 and 92% of sensitive strains, between 6 and 8% of resistant strains and 2% of strains with intermediate sensitivity were found depending on the reading method used. These values show a low resistance against this drug, which may have a direct repercussion on the therapeutic behaviour to be followed in candidiasis.
