Weekly fluconazole deters recurrent thrush
Recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis can be effectively managed using weekly fluconazole therapy, a US study shows. However, a long-term cure remains difficult to achieve, say the study authors.
They assigned 387 women affected by recurrent thrush to receive fluconazole
150mg or placebo weekly for six months, followed by six months of observation
without therapy. Active treatment reduced the frequency of recurrent
symptoms by more than 90 per cent. At six months, 128 of 141 patients
receiving fluconazole remained well without a clinical recurrence compared
with 51 of 142 patients receiving placebo. Treatment did not result in
the emergence of resistant strains of candida.
However, the researchers found that six months of suppressive therapy
did not guarantee a cure during the subsequent six months. By the end
of the study the proportion of women given fluconazole who were clinically
cured had fallen to 43 per cent. This compared with 22 per cent for women
given placebo (New England Journal of Medicine 2004;351:876). |
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