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. 1987 Nov;31(11):1775–1778. doi: 10.1128/aac.31.11.1775

Synergistic action of amphotericin B and rifampin against Rhizopus species.

J C Christenson 1, I Shalit 1, D F Welch 1, A Guruswamy 1, M I Marks 1
PMCID: PMC175037  PMID: 3435124

Abstract

A 16-year-old diabetic patient developed Rhizopus pneumonia and was initially treated with amphotericin B for 7 days. Because of clinical deterioration of the patient, rifampin was added empirically. The patient improved clinically, and lung tissue removed surgically 8 weeks later showed no fungal elements by histopathological studies or by culture. An in vitro study of amphotericin B alone and in combination with rifampin against the isolate from the patient and 11 additional isolates of Rhizopus spp. was designed. The activity of amphotericin B in the presence of rifampin (10 or 5 micrograms/ml) increased fourfold against 9 of 10 clinical and 1 of 2 environmental isolates. Amphotericin B activity in the presence of 2 micrograms of rifampin per ml increased fourfold against 6 of 10 clinical isolates and increased twofold against an additional 3 clinical isolates. Amphotericin B in the presence of 1 microgram of rifampin per ml inhibited 9 of 10 isolates at a concentration of one-half the MIC of amphotericin B alone. These findings were confirmed by dose-response curves calculated from fungal dry weight determinations of Rhizopus spp. incubated in serial dilutions of amphotericin B combined with rifampin. These observations demonstrate in vitro, and possibly in vivo, synergy between amphotericin B and rifampin against Rhizopus spp.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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