Treatment of Disseminated Coccidioidomycosis with Amphotericin B

Abstract
Amphotericin B is an antifungal antibiotic formed by a species of Streptomyces isolated from a soil sample obtained near the Orinoco River in South America. It has been shown to possess in vivo antifungal activity against experimentally induced coccidioidal infection in mice, and its action is similar to that of nystatin, in which coccidioidocidal activity has been demonstrated in vitro.1Although poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, amphotericin B has been shown to produce measurable blood levels when administered orally2and has recently been reported to be effective in the treatment of cutaneous coccidioidal granuloma when given by mouth over a period of three months.3Encouraging results were also obtained with the intravenous use of the drug in five stilbamidine-resistant patients having systemic North American blastomycosis.4The following report is of a case in which amphotericin B was administered both orally and intravenously