A Controlled Trial Comparing the Efficacy of Aerosolized Pentamidine and Parenteral/Oral Sulfamethoxazole-Trimethoprim in the Treatment of Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia in AIDS

Summary

To compare the safety and effectiveness of drug therapy with aerosolized pentamidine (PEN) with that of conventional therapy, sulfamethoxazole plus trimethoprim (SMX/TMP) in the treatment of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) in patients who have AIDS, are HIV positive, or are at high risk for HIV infection. New treatments are needed for PCP, a common lung infection in patients with AIDS, because many patients treated with the two standard treatments, PEN given by injections and SMX/TMP, have had adverse effects that required a change in treatment. There is also a high relapse rate after the standard treatments. Preliminary experiments in humans suggest that aerosolized PEN is as effective as the standard treatments for PCP, and causes few adverse effects.

Timeline

Start

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Primary completion

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Completion

1991-09

Publications

• Background Montgomery AB, Feigal DW Jr, Sattler F, Mason GR, Catanzaro A, Edison R, Markowitz N, Johnson E, Ogawa S, Rovzar M, et al. Pentamidine aerosol versus trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole for Pneumocystis carinii in acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1995 Apr;151(4):1068-74. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm/151.4.1068.

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Indications