Treatment of endogenous fungal endophthalmitis: focus on new antifungal agents

Abstract

Endogenous fungal endophthalmitis, involving only the chorioretinal structures or extending to involve the vitreous (vitritis), is a sight-threatening infection requiring early appropriate therapy. Endophthalmitis is a relatively frequent complication of candidemia and less commonly occurs in patients who have invasive aspergillosis. Because the eye is a protected compartment, penetration of systemically administered antifungal agents is highly variable. In the posterior segment of the eye, amphotericin B (AmB) achieves very poor concentrations, but fluconazole concentrations are high. Among newer antifungal agents, voriconazole shows the most promise, because therapeutic concentrations for most Candida and Aspergillus species are achieved in the vitreous, and its antifungal activity is broad. In contrast, neither posaconazole nor the 3 echinocandins achieve adequate therapeutic concentrations in the vitreous. For sight-threatening macular involvement and vitritis, intravitreal injection of either AmB or voriconazole is helpful to achieve high local antifungal activity as quickly as possible. We review the available evidence regarding the most appropriate use of antifungal agents for endogenous fungal endophthalmitis, with the emphasis on treatment of infections due to Candida species.