Abstract
Background. Pneumocystis jirovecii, formerly carinii, pneumonia (PCP) poses a life-threatening risk to oncology patients. The use of trimethoprim- sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMZ) prophylaxis virtually eliminates the risk of infection; however, many patients cannot tolerate TMP-SMZ. We performed a retrospective analysis to determine the PCP breakthrough rate in pediatric oncology patients receiving intravenous pentamidine as second line PCP prophylaxis. Procedure. We conducted a retrospective chart review of pediatric oncology patients who received intravenous pentamidine from 2001 to 2006 at our institution. The diagnosis, age and bone marrow transplant (BMT) status were determined. A subset of patients had review of their records to determine the justification for discontinuing TMP-SMZ. Children who developed symptoms of pneumonia with a clinical suspicion of PCP underwent bronchoscopy, allowing for identification of Pneumocystis. Results. A total of 232 patients received 1,706 doses of intravenous pentamidine and no toxicities were identified. The main reasons for discontinuing TMP-SMZ were bone marrow suppression and drug allergy. Three children developed PCP, equating to a breakthrough rate of 1.3%. Two of these children had undergone BMT (1.9% breakthrough rate) and both were under the age of two (6.5% breakthrough rate). Conclusions. The use of intravenous pentamidine as PCP prophylaxis results in a breakthrough rate of 1.3%. TMP-SMZ is the first choice for PCP prophylaxis. However, when necessary, the use of intravenous pentamidine has an acceptably low failure rate, even in high-risk 8MT patients. Other options should be considered for children less than 2 years of age.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 779-783 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Pediatric Blood and Cancer |
Volume | 50 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2008 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Pentamidine
- Pneumocystis pneumonia
- Prophylaxis
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
- Hematology
- Oncology