Susceptibility testing of clinical isolates of Sporothrix globosa in Shandong, China

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the antifungal susceptibility of Sporothrix globosa isolated from Shandong, China and compare the differences of antifungal activity in vitro between yeast and mycelial phase. METHODS The in vitro sensitivity of mycelium phase and yeast phase of Sporothrix globosa to anidulafungin, micafungin, caspofungin, 5-flucytosine, posaconazole, voriconazole, itraconazole, fluconazole, and amphotericin B was tested by Sensititre™ YeastOne™. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of mycelium phase and yeast phase were calculated. SPSS 19.0 software was used to conduct non-parametric rank sum test for MIC values, and P< 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS The mycelium phase and yeast phase were the most sensitive to itraconazole and the least sensitive to fluconazole. The yeast phase of the same strain was more sensitive to itraconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole, micafungin, anidulafungin, caspofungin and 5-fluorouracil, compared with the mycelium (P<0.05). However, fluconazole and amphotericin B had no significant difference in mycelium phase and yeast phase. CONCLUSIONS Itraconazole is the most active antifungal agent in vitro against S. globosa. The yeast phase of the same strain is more sensitive than that of the mycelium.