Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of Antifungals in Intensive Care Units

Antifungals under- and over-dosing are frequently deplored in patients treated with antifungals and receiving recommended doses, mostly in critically-ill patients. This situation is well-described for antifungals from the azoles class mostly in patients with liver dysfunction or having concomitant drugs that may interact with azoles. This situation is less-described using echinocandins, although recent studies reported caspofungin underdosing for critically-ill patients. Considering that antifungals under-dosing was demonstrated to be associated with an increase in mortality, it is of utmost importance to analyse the relevance of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) for patients admitted in intensive care units (ICU). This will help to identify which patients are the more prone to antifungal under or over-dosing. Indeed, antifungals under-dosing may favour the development of clinical resistance to antifungals and increase mortality, whereas over-dosing may result in adverse events that may lead to treatment discontinuation.