BACKGROUND
Infective endocarditis is a
disease characterised by
heart valve lesions, which exhibit
extracellular matrix proteins that act as a
physical barrier to prevent the passage of
antimicrobial agents. The genus
Candida has acquired
clinical importance given that it is increasingly being isolated from cases of
nosocomial infections. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the activity of
caspofungin compared to that of liposomal
amphotericin B against
Candida albicans in experimental
infective endocarditis.
METHODS Wistar rats underwent surgical intervention and
infection with
strains of C. albicans to develop
infective endocarditis. Three groups were formed the first group was treated with
caspofungin, the second with liposomal
amphotericin B, and the third received a placebo.
In vitro sensitivity was first determined to further evaluate the effect of these
treatments on a
rat experimental model of
endocarditis by semiquantitative
culture of fibrinous vegetations and histological
analysis. FINDINGS Our semiquantitative
culture of growing vegetation showed massive C. albicans colonisation in
rats without
treatment, whereas
rats treated with
caspofungin showed significantly reduced colonisation, which was
similar to the results obtained with liposomal
amphotericin B. CONCLUSIONS The antifungal activity of
caspofungin is
similar to that of liposomal
amphotericin B in an
experimental model of
infective endocarditis caused by C. albicans.