Clinical Pharmacology of Antifungal, Antituberculous, and Antiviral Drugs.

Infectious diseases due to fungi, mycobacteria, and viruses are of considerable therapeutic difficulty because of issues of drug selectivity, pharmacokinetics, toxicity, and resistance. This review addresses the clinical pharmacology of systemic antifungal, antituberculous, and antiviral agents. We discuss mechanisms of action, absorption/distribution/metabolism/excretion (ADME), pharmacodynamic principles, drug–drug interactions, therapeutic drug monitoring, and future strategies. The comparative approach highlights common pharmacologic difficulties (e.g. narrow therapeutic index, drug interactions) and possibilities (e.g. host-directed therapy, dose optimization). We finish with future directions in research to improve efficacy and safety in these classes.-