Aspergillosis is a rare event in intensive care patients. Three cases of invasive aspergillosis due to Aspergillus fumigatus were diagnosed in a surgical critical care unit. Risk factors for aspergillosis were found in two liver transplanted patients. One of them had a primitive cutaneous aspergillosis, and the other, treatment difficulties due to the unavailability of an injectable preparation of itraconazole, a new triazole antifungal agent efficient against Aspergillus species. The third case occurred in a patient who had had surgery for gastric carcinoma with liver metastasis. The mycological examination of the air and workbench in the patients' rooms disclosed between 2 and 13 CFU.mm-3 of different Aspergillus species. Plasma itraconazole concentrations were measured in one patient only. They were below the therapeutic range, probably because of intestinal disturbances. The oral administration of itraconazole capsules through gastro-intestinal feeding tubes results in a poor availability of the drug. Such a technique of administration should therefore be undertaken with larger doses than those commonly recommended. Moreover, itraconazole plasma concentrations should be monitored. The association with amphotericin B is recommended until normal intestinal absorption has been obtained.
