Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content

Antifungal drug resistance: Do molecular methods provide a way forward?

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

85 Scopus citations

Abstract

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Antifungal drug resistance is a confounding factor that negatively impacts clinical outcome for patients with serious mycoses. Early detection of fungi in blood or other specimens with a rapid assessment of drug susceptibility could improve the survival of patients with invasive disease by accelerating the initiation of appropriate antifungal treatment. Recent years have seen the growth of molecular technology that is ideally suited for fungal identification and assessment of drug resistance mechanisms. RECENT FINDINGS: Elucidation of the genetic mechanisms responsible for triazole and echinocandin resistance in prominent Candida spp. and Aspergillus spp. provides an opportunity to develop molecular diagnostic platforms suitable for rapid detection of primary and secondary drug resistance. Several highly dynamic and robust amplification/detection methodologies are now available that can provide simultaneous species identification and high fidelity discrimination of resistance alleles. SUMMARY: Molecular diagnostic platforms are ideal for rapid detection of fungal pathogens and they provide an opportunity to develop in parallel molecular assays that can evaluate antifungal drug resistance.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)568-573
Number of pages6
JournalCurrent Opinion in Infectious Diseases
Volume22
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2009

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
    SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

  • Antifungal drug resistance
  • Fungal infections
  • Molecular diagnostics

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Antifungal drug resistance: Do molecular methods provide a way forward?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this