How to Treat Aspergillosis

Aspergillosis is any infection caused by a fungus of the Aspergillus genus. This is a large genus and many specific diseases are included in the term "aspergillosis." They are grouped into three major categories according to the type of infection: allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, invasive aspergillosis and pulmonary aspergilloma. None of these diseases are normally dangerous to someone with a healthy immune system.

Instructions

• 1

  Treat allergic aspergillosis with corticosteroids and intraconazole. Use caution when using steroids for prolonged periods, as in the case of chronic aspergilloisis.

• 2

  Deal with invasive aspergillosis by taking voriconazole, amphotericin B and itraconazole. The use of voriconazole in the effective treatment of invasive aspergillosis is particularly noteworthy and has been demonstrated in a large well-conducted trial. These drugs have a reasonably broad spectrum of activity against hyaline molds and a confirmed diagnosis of aspergillosis is not as critical for these treatments.

• 3

  Use Caspofungin in patients who are intolerant of other therapies. Caspofungin has been licensed in the United States for the treatment of invasive aspergillosis. This drug has a narrower spectrum of activity and should only be used in the cases of confirmed aspergillosis.

• 4

  Consider the use of newer drugs such as anidulafungin, FK463, posaconazole and ravuconazole which have been evaluated for use against aspergillosis.

• 5

  Have surgical resection to treat the balls of aspergillus fibers (aspergillomas) that collect in open cavities. This procedure carries a high risk and should only be considered for patients likely to develop hemoptysis.