Antifungal Agents

Effective drugs are available for a wide range of fungal infections, covering most of the major systemic pathogens and providing a choice for many conditions. In the more common superficial infections it is possible to cure many patients with topical treatment, and the details of administration are often more important than the choice of agent. There are now few conditions for which there is no effective treatment.
There are four main families of antifungal agents: the allylamines, the azoles, the echinocandins and the polyenes. In addition, there is a miscellaneous group of drugs that includes flucytosine, griseofulvin and various agents that are used for topical treatment. Resistance, although not a major problem, has been recorded with some azole antifungals and with the echinocandins, usually in situations where the drugs have been given for long periods of time in the face of persistent infection.