Objectives:
The aim of this study was to identify the impact of antifungal prevention in critically ill immunocompetent adult patients on mortality and subsequent infection.
Data Sources:
A systematic review and
meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing any antifungal use versus placebo to prevent candidiasis in ICU patients were performed.
Study Selection:
Searches were performed on PubMed, Embase, Scopus, main conference proceedings, and
ClinicalTrials.gov, as well as reference lists.
Data Extraction:
The primary outcomes were mortality and invasive candidiasis. The secondary outcome was the rate of
Candida albicans and nonalbicans strains after treatment. A random effect model was used, and sensitivity analysis was performed for both outcomes. Results are expressed as risk ratios and their 95% CIs.
Data Synthesis:
Nineteen trials (10 with fluconazole, four with ketoconazole, one with itraconazole, three with micafungin, and one with caspofungin) including 2,792 patients were identified. No individual trial showed a decreased mortality rate. Combined analysis showed that preventive antifungal did not decrease mortality (risk ratio, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.74–1.04;
p = 0.14) but significantly decreased secondary fungal infections by 50% (risk ratio, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.35–0.68;
p = 0.0001). No shift across nonalbicans strains was observed during treatment (risk ratio, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.19–1.97;
p = 0.42). However, publication biases preclude any definite conclusions for prevention of infection.
Conclusions:
Antifungal prevention of systemic candidiasis in immunocompetent critically ill adults did not reduce mortality and may have decreased secondary fungal infection rates. However, significant publication bias was present.
