AEGiS-CATIE: TOXICITY: Drugs for PCP Pentamidine

TOXICITY: Drugs for PCP Pentamidine

TreatmentUpdate43: Vol. 4, No. 3, July, 1993
Sean Hosein

Given by aerosol, injection or intravenously, this drug can cause:

painful inflammation of the pancreas gland (pancreatitis)
abnormally low or high blood levels of sugar

Given intravenously, pentamidine can cause:

kidney toxicity
damage to the bone marrow
abnormally low levels of platelets
liver toxicity (detected by the presence of increased blood levels of liver enzymes)
irregular heartbeats

Many of these symptoms clear when patients stop receiving the drug. Giving intravenous pentamidine slowly is supposed to make drastic changes in blood pressure less likely.

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ÆGIS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Elton John AIDS Foundation, iMetrikus, Inc., the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1993.

Copyright © 1993 - TreatmentUpdate. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Editor, The Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange, 555 Richmond St. West, Suite 505, Box 1104, Toronto, ON, M5V 3B1 • Phone: 416-203-7122 • Toll Free: 1-800-263-1638 • Fax: 416-203-8284 http://www.catie.ca

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©1993. AEGIS.