C. Lidman et al., AEROSOLIZED PENTAMIDINE VERSUS IV PENTAMIDINE FOR SECONDARY PROPHYLAXIS OF PNEUMOCYSTIS-CARINII PNEUMONIA, Infection, 21(3), 1993, pp. 146-149
The efficacy and toxicity of aerosolized pentamidine was evaluated in
78 AIDS patients given 60 mg biweekly as secondary prophylaxis against
Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP). Patients were monitored for cli
nical progression and mortality and were compared to 42 historical con
trols given 200-300 mg i.v. pentamidine biweekly. The relapse rates di
d not differ markedly between the two groups, and the PCP-free rates i
n survivors were at 12 months 0.83 and 0.77, respectively. Seventy-one
new AIDS-defining events and 25 deaths were recorded in patients on a
erosolized pentamidine compared to 29 AIDS events and two deaths in pa
tients on intravenous pentamidine. Recurrent PCP contributed to death
in only one case of the aerosolized pentamidine group. PCP is not a se
rious clinical problem in immunodeficient patients taking pentamidine
prophylaxis by either route compared to the progression of clinical HI
V disease and death.