Updated practice guidelines for the diagnosis and management of aspergillosis: challenges and opportunities

Haemorrhagic cystitis following the administration of voriconazole in the treatment of central nervous system aspergillosis: a case report

Central nervous system aspergillosis (CNS-A) is a rare and fatal fungal infection. Voriconazole is the recommended treatment for CNS-A. The therapeutic effect of voriconazole is good, but its use is limited due to adverse reactions. This case report describes a 37-year-old male patient that had previously been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. He had received immunosuppressive agents for 1 year following a haematopoietic bone marrow transplant. He presented with a 1-month history of left limb weakness as well as recurrent fever. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed that he had multiple cerebral infarctions. Subsequently, he was diagnosed with CNS-A by metagenomic next-generation sequencing. Voriconazole was added to his treatment regimen, but it resulted in severe haemorrhagic cystitis and possibly bladder rupture. The dose of voriconazole was adjusted and reparative bladder surgery was undertaken immediately. Eventually, the patient was successfully treated with voriconazole and there was no recurrence of symptoms after 1 year of follow-up. Haemorrhagic cystitis is a rare adverse drug reaction associated with voriconazole use. Based on the experience with this current case, physicians should be aware of urinary tract complications with voriconazole including haemorrhagic cystitis.

Safety and nonclinical and clinical pharmacokinetics of PC945, a novel inhaled triazole antifungal agent

PC945 is a novel antifungal triazole formulated for nebulized delivery to treat lung Aspergillus infections. Pharmacokinetic and safety profiles from nonclinical studies and clinical trials in healthy subjects, and subjects with mild asthma were characterized. Toxicokinetics were assessed following daily 2-hour inhalation for 14 days. Potential for drug-drug interactions was evaluated using pooled human liver microsomes. Clinical safety and pharmacokinetics were assessed following (a) single inhaled doses (0.5-10 mg), (b) 7-day repeat doses (5 mg daily) in healthy subjects; (c) a single dose (5 mg) in subjects with mild asthma. Cmax occurred 4 hours (rats) or immediately (dogs) after a single dose. PC945 lung concentrations were substantially higher (>2000-fold) than those in plasma. PC945 only inhibited CYP3A4/5 substrate metabolism (IC50 : 1.33 µM [testosterone] and 0.085 µM [midazolam]). Geometric mean Cmax was 322 pg/mL (healthy subjects) and 335 pg/mL (subjects with mild asthma) 4-5 hours (median tmax ) after a single inhalation (5 mg). Following repeat, once daily inhalation (5 mg), Day 7 Cmax was 951 pg/mL (0.0016 µM) 45 minutes after dosing. Increases in Cmax and AUC0-24h were approximately dose-proportional (0.5-10 mg). PC945 administration was well tolerated in both healthy subjects and subjects with mild asthma. Treatment-emergent adverse events were mild/moderate and resolved before the study ended. No clinically significant lung function changes were observed. PC945 pharmacokinetics translated from nonclinical species to humans showed slow absorption from lungs and low systemic exposure, thereby limiting the potential for adverse side effects and drug interactions commonly seen with systemically delivered azoles.