This review focuses on the practical aspects of prevention and treatment of fungal infections in surgical patients. It covers epidemiology and risk factors for invasive candidiasis, updates on the etiological structure of fungal infections in patients in critical conditions, and provides the information on drug sensitivity of Candida species. The authors discuss the limitations of cultural and non-cultural diagnostic methods used in invasive candidiasis, emphasizing the importance of analyzing the existing risk factors in combination with a comprehensive assessment of clinical and laboratory data for timely initiation of adequate antifungal therapy. The review provides a brief description of currently available antimicotics, including polyenes, triazoles, and echinocandins. It also describes the benefits of anidulafungin, which does not interact with other drugs and has no negative effect on the liver and kidney. The article also covers indications for antifungal agents in surgical intensive care units in accordance with international and Russian guidelines. A cohort of patients with abdominal diseases requiring preventive and empirical treatment with antimicotics is described. In additions to that, the manuscript contains a rationale for the use of echinocandins in targeted therapy of invasive candidiasis.

The efficacy of cefepime in the treatment of 46 patients operated for general peritonitis of various genesis and severity (APACHE II not greater than 35) was studied. Cefepime was used in a dose of 2 g administered every 12 hours as slow intravenous infusions in 0.9 per cent sodium chloride solution in combination with metronidazole administered intravenously in a dose of 7.5 mg/kg body weight. The treatment course was 4 to 15 days. 45 patients were given diflucan for the prophylaxis of fungal superinfection, 3 patients were given aminoglycoside antibiotics (netilmicin or amikacin) and 2 patients were given vancomycin per os. The favourable clinical effect of the cefepime therapy was stated in 38 patients (82.6 per cent) including 4 out of 10 patients with initial APACHE II > 15. 101 isolates of aerobic gram-negative and gram-positive microbes from 38 patients treated with cefepime in combination with metronidazole were tested to estimate the bacteriological efficacy of the therapy and it was shown that only 5.9 per cent of them was resistant. The pathogen eradication was stated in 84.2 per cent of the patients.