Pfizer's Diflucan (fluconazole) reduces fungal infections in AIDS patients with low CD4 cell counts when taken prophylactically, according to the results of the AIDS Clinical Trial Group protocol 908, a substudy of the ACTG 081 trial.
The investigators said that, taken prophylactically, the compound "reduces the frequency of cryptococcosis, esophageal and superficial fungal infections in HIV-infected patients, especially those with 50 or fewer CD4 cells/mm3."
However, the drug does not reduce overall mortality. The study compared 200mg per day of fluconazole with 10mg of clotrimazole (Miles' Mycelex and Schering-Plough's Lotrimin) five times daily. 428 patients were randomized to receive treatment with a 35-month follow-up.
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