Successful treatment of disseminated candidiasis resistant to amphotericin B by liposomal amphotericin B: a case report

The case of a female patient with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and chronic disseminated candidiasis, who was refractory to 1.8 g conventional amphotericin B therapy, is reported. She experienced severe amphotericin-B-related side-effects in spite of pretreatment, but was subsequently successfully treated with 3 g of a small unilamellar liposome formulation of amphotericin B prepared from soya phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol in a 73 molar ratio at our institute. The patient experienced minimal side-effects with this preparation, although no pretreatment was given. Liposomal amphotericin B prepared in our institute appears to be a safe and effective therapy for systemic fungal infections. However, large controlled studies are required to determine more precisely the potential of liposomal amphotericin B in the treatment of severe systemic fungal infection.