The Outcome of Antifungal Prophylaxis with Posaconazole in Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Single-Center Study

Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among neutropenic patients undergoing chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and stem cell transplantation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the real-life impact of posaconazole prophylaxis. Eighty-four adult patients were included with AML under remission induction chemotherapy and posaconazole prophylaxis. The 34 patients in the control group did not receive primary antifungal prophylaxis. The period between June 2006 and January 2009, when antifungal prophylaxis was not administered (control group), was retrospectively compared to the period between December 2010 and May 2012 when primary oral posaconazole prophylaxis was administered in similar conditions (posaconazole group) according to the use of antifungal agents for treatment, breakthrough infections, galactomannan performance, and the necessity for performing bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) procedures. The two groups were compared according to the use of antifungal agents; progression to a different antifungal agent was found in 34/34 patients (100%) in the control group and in 9/84 patients (11%) in the posaconazole group (p