Combination therapy in treatment of experimental pulmonary aspergillosis: synergistic interaction between an antifungal triazole and an echinocandin.

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. Simultaneous inhibition of fungal cell-wall and cell-membrane biosynthesis may result in synergistic interaction against Aspergillus fumigatus. We studied the antifungal activity of micafungin, a new echinocandin, in combination with ravuconazole, a second-generation triazole, against experimental invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in persistently neutropenic rabbits. This combination led to significant reductions in mortality (P