Dr Hogan is a fellow in the infectious disease program at San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium, San Antonio, Tex, and assistant professor of medicine at F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md. Dr Hospenthal is chief of the infectious disease service at San Antonio Military Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Tex, and professor of medicine, F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or US government. The authors are employees of the US government. This work was prepared as part of their official duties and, as such, is not subject to copyright.

Sporotrichosis is a fungal infection that typically results in cutaneous or lymphocutaneous disease, although other, more severe, life-threatening manifestations do occur. This article reviews updated treatment guidelines, which state that itraconazole has become the preferred therapy for most forms of infection. Amphotericin B remains the mainstay of treatment for severe cases, but lipid formulations are now preferred because of their more favorable toxicity profile. Also, fluconazole has been shown to be less effective than itraconazole and is no longer recommended except as an alternative for cutaneous and lymphocutaneous disease. [Drug Benefit Trends. 2010;22:49-52]