Abelcet

Abelcet is an antifungal that's used to treat fungal infections. It works by attaching to substances called sterols that are found in the protective covering of certain fungi. This causes the fungal cells to leak, which eventually kills the fungi.

Abelcet is used to treat a wide variety of serious fungal infections. But it isn't a first-choice medication. Instead, Abelcet is typically only given to you if the standard amphotericin B (known as deoxycholate amphotericin B) didn't work well to treat your infection, or if you can't use the standard treatment because of kidney problems. Studies show that Abelcet causes less kidney damage compared with the standard amphotericin B treatment.

Abelcet is typically given as an infusion through the veins (IV) by a healthcare provider. The infusion is usually done in the hospital because people who need this medication often have serious infections that need medical support. But if your provider thinks it's appropriate, you can get the infusion at an outpatient infusion center or in a home-care setting. The typical daily dose of Abelcet is 5 mg/kg of body weight, given as a single IV infusion.

In clinical trials, the most common side effects people experienced with Abelcet are chills and fever. These symptoms typically appeared 1 to 2 hours after the start of the IV infusion, and are more frequently felt with the first few doses of Abelcet. Some people also reported serious side effects, such as kidney damage, multiple organ failure, and severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis). Please be aware that many of the people in the clinical trials had serious infections, other medical conditions, and were taking other medications, so the side effects might not be linked to Abelcet alone.