Efficacy and safety of posaconazole in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation patients with invasive fungal disease

Aim: Invasive fungal disease (IFD) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) patients. This study reports real-world efficacy and safety of posaconazole (POS) in HSCT recipients with IFD. Patients & methods: We performed a retrospective study to investigate the efficacy and safety of POS oral suspension in 45 HSCT patients with IFD from December 2013 to December 2016. Results: The success rate at 12 weeks after POS treatment was 57.8%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that persistent neutropenia, severe graft-versus-host disease, high-dose steroid and cytomegalovirus infection were independently associated with inferior responses to POS. POS caused some adverse effects of mild or moderate severity that were of short duration. Conclusion: This study provides encouraging data regarding the efficacy and safety of POS in HSCT recipients. Neutropenia, graft-versus-host disease, steroid use and cytomegalovirus infection are possibly associated with inferior responses to POS therapy.