Prophylaxis and therapy for Pneumocystis pneumonia--where are we?
The armamentarium of drugs to treat and to prevent Pneumocystis pneumonia has expanded substantially over the past decade. In all patient populations trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is the preferred regimen for both acute treatment and prophylaxis. Clindamycin-primaquine and atovaquone are both effective agents for acute therapy but there are no data yet suggesting that they are preferable to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Corticosteroid therapy is now standard for severe AIDS-associated Pneumocystis pneumonia, and should probably be used in other patient populations with severe pneumocystis pneumonia as well.
Masur
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Critical Care Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000517:prevention & control; D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D053626:Atovaquone; D002981:Clindamycin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004361:Drug Tolerance; D006801:Humans; D009285:Naphthoquinones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011020:Pneumonia, Pneumocystis / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011319:Primaquine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015662:Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D000935:Antifungal Agents; D009285:Naphthoquinones; D002981:Clindamycin; D015662:Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination; D011319:Primaquine; D053626:Atovaquone