Lipid Formulations of Amphotericins: Are You a Lumper or a Splitter?

Abstract

In his letter, Frothingham [1] questions the wisdom of grouping together the lipid formulations of amphotericin as alternatives to conventional amphotericin B for empirical antifungal therapy, as was done in the recent guideline by Hughes et al. [2]. He notes that there are pharmacokinetic differences among the formulations, posits that these differences should lead to separate treatment of the agents, and concludes that, on the basis of the published data, liposomal amphotericin B (L-Amph; AmBisome; Fujisawa Healthcare) is the preferred formulation.