Efficacy of ravuconazole in a murine model of vaginitis by Candida albicans

Abstract

BackgroundThe incidence of vulvovaginal candidiasis, a common infection among healthy women primarily caused by the yeast Candida albicans, has increased significantly in recent years. AimsThe purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of ravuconazole (RVC) and fluconazole (FLC) in the treatment of experimental C. albicans vaginitis. MethodsForty isolates of C. albicans were screened for their in vitro susceptibility to RVC and FLC. A strain of C. albicans that was resistant to FLC (minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] of >64μg/ml) was selected for the in vivo study. Treatment regimens for the murine vaginal infection model were (1) 1, 5, 10, and 20mg/kg RVC once daily, (2) 20mg/kg RVC twice daily, (3) 20mg/kg FLC once daily, and (4) 20mg/kg FLC twice daily. ResultsThe geometric means of the MIC values at 48h for all isolates tested were 0.05 and 0.5μg/ml for RVC and FLC, respectively. Regimens of either RVC or FLC at 20mg/kg twice daily were more effective to reduce the load of FLC-resistant C. albicans than single dose administration. ConclusionsComplete eradication of C. albicans from the vagina was not observed with RVC or FLC treatment in the animal model, although RVC treatment showed a lower fungal concentration 14 days after drug administration.