"Cheaper Drugs More Effective in AIDS Cases"

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1992. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

"Cheaper Drugs More Effective in AIDS Cases"

Journal of Commerce (12/29/92), P. 7A

Abstract: The Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) experienced in AIDS patients can be more effectively treated with daily tablets of two cheaper drugs than with the more expensive treatment of inhaling the drug pentamidine. However, the less expensive treatment also has drawbacks, according to studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine. While the cheaper treatment, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, may be more effective, the risk of side effects is higher and eventually may force some HIV-positive patients into more extensive therapy. A team of researchers led by Dr. Margriet M.E. Schneider of the University Hospital in Utrecht, the Netherlands, conducted one test on 215 subjects who previously had not suffered from PCP. They discovered that 11 percent of the patients receiving aerosolized pentamidine developed PCP. Of those AIDS patients who received the less expensive combination of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, there were no cases of PCP.

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