Pentamidine isethionate use

It is active against a variety of protozoal infections, including many trypanosomes such as T. brucei gambiense, for which pentamidine is used to treat and prevent the organism’s hematologic stage. However, some trypanosomes, including T. cruzi, are resistant. Pentamidine is also effective in the treatment of systemic blastomycosis (caused by the fungus Blastomyces dermatitidis) and in treating infections caused by Pneumocystis jiroveci (formerly called Pneumocystis carinii, the name now used to refer to the organism in animals). [Note: It is now considered to be a fungus, but it is not susceptible to antifungal drugs. Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is preferred in the treatment of P. jiroveci infections. However, pentamidine is an alternative in treating patients with pneumonia caused by P. jiroveci who have failed to respond to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. The drug is also used in treating P. jiroveci–infected individuals who are allergic to sulfonamides. Because of the increased incidence of pneumonia caused by this organism in immunocompromised patients, such as those infected with human immunodeficiency virus, pentamidine has assumed an important place in chemotherapy.] Pentamidine is also an alternative drug to stibogluconate in the treatment of leishmaniasis.