Antifungal activity of Taurolidine against Mucorales: An in vitro study on clinical isolates

Taurolidine is active against a wide variety of micro organisms, including bacteria and fungi. Mucormycosis is one of the life-threatening opportunistic fungal infections, especially in immunocompromised patients. Currently, the emergence of Mucormycosis during the COVID-19 pandemic raises public health concerns regarding untoward morbidity and mortality among SARS-CoV-2 patients. It is well-known that delayed and inappropriate antifungal therapy leads to increased morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to investigate the in-vitro antifungal activity of taurolidine to evaluate its effects against clinical isolates of Mucorales.

This study included previously collected clinical Mucorales isolates. The minimum in vitro inhibitory concentration (MIC) of amphotericin B, caspofungin, voriconazole, posaconazole, and itraconazole was determined using the broth microdilution method.

All clinical isolates showed full sensitivity to amphotericin B. Posaconazole MIC range from 8 μg/mL to 0.032 μg/mL. The MIC range of voriconazole and caspofungin were determined to be 2-8 µg/mL and 0.5-16 µg/mL, respectively. Growth of the isolates was entirely inhibited in 1000 µg/mL concentration of taurolidine. In microscopic observations, morphological effects on hyphal growth were observed at 500 µg/mL concentration.

In conclusion, this is an updated experience of using taurolidine against Mucorales. However, our in-vitro findings need to be confirmed in well-designed clinical trials aimed at treating invasive Mucormycosis infections.