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Current recommendations for treating catheter-associated fungal infections include line removal and systemic antifungal therapy. Now, investigators have evaluated the potential for echinocandins to serve as antifungal catheter lock solutions.
Caspofungin (2 mg/L) and micafungin (5 mg/L) were studied in vitro against Candida albicans biofilms associated with silicone catheters. The drugs were added to two sets of biofilms — one 12 hours old and one 5 days old — which were then incubated for 12 hours. To determine persistence of antifungal effect, researchers incubated the catheter pieces without the antifungals for an additional 24, 48, and 72 hours.
The echinocandins reduced the metabolic activity of C. albicans by at least 50% in both the in…