Pneumocystis jirovecii Pneumonia Prophylaxis with Intravenous Pentamidine in Adult Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Patients

Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2022 Nov 15;66(11):e0083322. doi: 10.1128/aac.00833-22. Epub 2022 Oct 10.

Abstract

The purpose of this single-center retrospective case series was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of 300-mg once-monthly intravenous (IV) pentamidine prophylaxis in 702 adult allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) patients. We observed no cases of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) following IV pentamidine administration. Breakthrough Nocardia and Toxoplasma infections were observed in 7 (1%) and 5 (0.7%) patients, respectively. The most commonly reported adverse event was nausea. Monthly IV pentamidine is a reasonable alternative to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX).

Keywords: Pneumocystis; bone marrow transplantation; prophylaxis.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation* / adverse effects
  • Humans
  • Pentamidine / therapeutic use
  • Pneumocystis carinii*
  • Pneumonia, Pneumocystis* / drug therapy
  • Pneumonia, Pneumocystis* / prevention & control
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Pentamidine
  • Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination