Background and objectives: The incidence of drug-resistant candidiasis has increased dramatically. This study aimed to evaluate antifungal effects of fluconazole alone and in combination with ibuprofen on isolates from patients with mucosal candidiasis.
Methods: Candida species isolates from 142 patients with suspected mucosal (oral and vaginal) candidiasis were identified by culture on CHROMagar
Candida medium and carbohydrate assimilation test using the API 20CAUX kit
. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of fluconazole alone and in combination with ibuprofen was determined by the broth microdilution method.
Results: Among isolates, 43.7% were identified as
Candida species (
Candida albicans,
Candida glabrata, Candidia parapsilosis,
Candida tropicalis,
Candida guilliermondii and
Candida kefyr). The highest rate of fluconazole resistance was observed among
C. albicans (50%) isolates. MIC
90 of ibuprofen-fluconazole combination against
C. albicans isolates was 32 μg/mL, which was 8-fold less than that of fluconazole alone (MIC
90=256 μg/mL) (P<0.01). Moreover, the MIC
90 of fluconazole-ibuprofen combination against
C. parapsilosis isolates was 4-fold less than that of fluconazole alone.
Conclusion: Our results revealed partial fluconazole resistance among
Candida isolates from patients with mucosal candidiasis. However, the resistance rate decreased 2.5 fold following treatment with the ibuprofen-fluconazole combination. Therefore, it is recommended to further investigate the therapeutic potential of this drug combination for treatment of fungal infections, such as candidiasis.