TABLE 1.

Analytical methods for monitoring of antifungal blood levels

Method	Pros of method	Cons of method	Detection of drug by reported methods
			Flucyto-sine	Flucon-azole	Itracon-azole	Posacon-azole	Voricon-azole	Ampho-tericin-B	Anidula-fungin	Caspo-fungin	Mica-fungin
Chromatographic (HPLC and LC-MS)	Reference methods, high sensitivity, high specificity, rapid analysis	Expensive equipment and specialized technicians, time to results of up to 1 wk for central laboratories	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Microbiological (bioassay)	Inexpensive, clinically relevant concn range, assessment of microbiologically active metabolites, applicable in local microbiology laboratory with time to result of 24 h	Interferences in combination antifungal therapy, cross-validation with chromatographic method needed	+	+	+	+	+	+	−	+	−