Clinical response to ketoconazole of HIV-related oral candidosis is predicted by Odds' relative growth method of susceptibility testing

In-vitro ketoconazole susceptibility was assessed by measuring an isolate's relative growth in medium containing a fixed concentration of ketoconazole as a percentage of growth in drug-free medium. One hundred specimens from HIV-positive patients with candidosis were tested. Each patient's response was assessed following one week's treatment with ketoconazole 400 mg/day. A relative growth in ketoconazole of >75% predicted clinical failure of ketoconazole with a specificity of 97% and sensitivity of 79%.