Implementation of Clinical Practice Policy on the Continuous Intravenous Administration of Amphotericin B Deoxycholate
Pasri Maharom MD*, Visanu Thamlikitkul MD*
Affiliation : *Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University
Background : Systemic fungal infections have significantly increased. The mainstay of treatment is amphoteri-
cin B deoxycholate. A limitation of using amphotericin B includes infusion-related reactions and nephrotox-
icity. A continuous infusion of amphotericin B was found to reduce nephrotoxicity and infusion-related reactions.
Objective : To implement clinical practice policy on the continuous intravenous administration of amphoteri-
cin B in the patients hospitalized in general medical wards at Siriraj Hospital.
Method: A one-page evidence-based clinical practice policy on continuous intravenous administration of
amphotericin B was prepared and disseminated to all general medical wards in Siriraj Hospital. The informa-
tion on the patients who received amphotericin B treatment between March 2004 and March 2006 was
collected. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, univariate analysis and multiv ariate analysis
as appropriate. A p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results : Of 166 courses of amphotericin B treatment in 148 patients, 102 courses (61.4%) were given continu-
ous intravenous administration of amphotericin B (CI group) and 64 courses (38.6%) were given conven-
tional 4-to 6-hour intravenous administration (RI group). The mean age of the patients in the CI group was
significantly greater than that in the RI group. The CI group had more patients with neutropenia with
persistent fever whereas the RI group had more patients with HIV/AIDS and cryptococcal meningitis. The
incidence of amphotericin B-related nephrotoxicity was 27.5% in the CI group compared with 39.1% in the RI
group (p=0.164). Chills were observed in 6.9% of the patients in the CI group compared with 26.6% in the RI
group (p=0.001). Overall mortality at the end of therapy was significantly higher in the CI group. However,
most of the deaths in the CI group were unrelated to fungal infections or amphotericin administration.
Conclusion : Continuous infusion of amphotericin B was associated with a decrease in infusion-related
reactions and tended to have less nephrotoxicity than those in the 4-to 6-hour infusion group.
Keywords : Continuous-infusion, Amphotericin B, Nephrotoxicity, Infusion-related reactions
