): negative conversion, improved, unchanged, worsened, not assessable Major items: clinical symptoms (fatigue, sputum, sputum cruentum, cough), fever, diagnostic imaging Minor items: nutrition status, inflammation findings improvement, no change, aggravation, indetermination The major drawback of these studies is the heterogenous criteria used for defining overall response with some utilising stabilisation and some using improvement in clinical, radiological and mycological (or serological) findings or their combination thereof. For instance, the response rates vary from 13–14% to 44–61% in CCPA if one

uses improvement or stabilisation, respectively, to define response.[11, 22, 27] Another drawback is that many studies have not differentiated between the different entities of CPA. Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis is a progressive pulmonary syndrome characterised by the presence LY294002 mw of multiple Daporinad concentration cavities and evidence of the presence of Aspergillus (either immunological or microbiological detection). In some patients, the disease can follow a progressively relentless course. The results of this study suggest that there was better outcome with itraconazole, but it may not confer long-term clinical or radiological benefit in patients with CCPA. In fact,

five patients had clinical and/or radiological worsening in the next 6 months after stopping itraconazole. Most of our patients had been treated for pulmonary tuberculosis in the past, which reflected the occurrence of CCPA in the upper lobes similar to previous reports.[31, 32] Itraconazole can penetrate into the walls of the cavity and even inside the fungal balls.[17] Hence, azoles are considered as an important therapeutic option in patients with aspergilloma (and CCPA). The earliest

study on CPA by De Beule et al. showed global improvement in 66% of CNPA and 56% of aspergilloma treated with oral itraconazole.[13] In this study, patients with CNPA demonstrated good radiological response whereas most patients with aspergilloma showed only symptomatic Ketotifen response.[13] Similarly, Dupont et al. showed an overall improvement of 92.8% with itraconazole given at a dose 100–200 mg day−1 in CNPA.[12] Denning et al. have reported the efficacy of oral itraconazole, voriconazole and posaconazole in patients with CPA with majority of the cases being those of CCPA.[2, 10, 19, 22] The efficacy rates of different azoles in various studies ranged from 61% to 71% and the efficacy rates were not different between the azoles.[2, 10, 19, 22] The results of our systematic review suggest a wide variation in efficacy rates with different agents, with the response lower in CCPA and highest in CNPA. Although both CNPA and CCPA are characterised by lung cavities what differentiates them is the course of the disorder which is far more rapid and destructive in the former.