The in vitro antifungal activity of a new
triazole derivative,
voriconazole, was compared with those of
itraconazole and
amphotericin B against 67 isolates of Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Bipolaris spp., Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium solani, Pseudallescheria boydii, Rhizopus arrhizus, Blastomyces dermatitidis, Histoplasma capsulatum, and Sporothrix schenckii. The in vitro activities of
voriconazole were also compared with those of
amphotericin B,
fluconazole, and
itraconazole against 189 isolates of emerging and common yeast pathogens of Blastoschizomyces capitatus, Candida (13 species), Cryptococcus neoformans, Hansenula anomala, Rhodotorula rubra, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Sporobolomyces salmonicolor, and Trichosporon beigelii. MICs were determined according to a procedure under evaluation by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) for broth microdilution testing of filamentous fungi and by the NCCLS M27-A broth microdilution method for yeasts. The in vitro activities of
voriconazole were similar to or better than those of
itraconazole and
amphotericin B against Aspergillus spp., Fusarium spp., and P. boydii as well as against B. dermatitidis and H. capsulatum. The activities of
voriconazole were also comparable to or better than those of
amphotericin B,
fluconazole, and
itraconazole against most species of yeasts tested. Exceptions were certain isolates of R. rubra and S. salmonicolor. These results suggest that
voriconazole has a wide spectrum of activity in vitro; its effectiveness in the treatment of human
mycoses is under evaluation in clinical trials.