Itraconazole for the Treatment of Cryptococcosis in Cats |
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| Authors: | Linda Medleau Gilbert J Jacobs M Amanda Marks |
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| Institution: | Department of Small Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA. |
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| Abstract: | Itraconazole was used in 35 cats with cryptococcosis. Treatment response was determined by comparing clinical signs before, during, and after treatment. It could not be evaluated in 7 cats because they died during treatment from causes unrelated to cryptococcosis. Of the remaining 28 cats, treatment response was classified as success in 16 cats (57%), as improvement in 8 cats (29%), and as a failure in 4 (14%). The failures were due to death or euthanasia from drug toxicity (1 cat), progressive fungal disease (2 cats), and relapse 1 year after treatment (1 cat). The cats that improved did not undergo a 1 -year posttreatment evaluation because they were lost to follow-up (3 cats), died or were euthanatized for other reasons (4 cats), or had a noncompliant owner (1 cat). For the 16 cats in which treatment was successful, the median itraconazole dose was 13.8 mg/kg body weight daily (range, 10.9 to 26.7 mg/kg/d), and the median duration of treatment was 8.5 months (range, 4 to 16 months). Five of these cats had previously been treated unsuccessfully with ketoconazole. |
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