1994 Volume 42 Issue 12 Pages 1385-1390
We reviewed the charts of 7 patients (mean age: 29.9 years old) with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection complicated with adverse reaction to sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (ST). Six of the 7 patients were male hemophiliacs and one patient was the wife of a hemophiliac. We administrated ST (initial dose: 2-12 tablets per day) to 4 patients for the treatment of Pneumocystis carinii (PC) pneumonia and 3 patients for prophylaxis of PC pneumonia. The adverse reaction occurred in 4 patients between 9 to 16 days after beginning of the treatment and consisted of skin eruption, fever and general fatigue. Abnormal changes in laboratory data developed in all 7 patients between 7 to 22 days after administration of ST, and consisted of liver disorder, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, renal disorder, elevation of serum level of amylase and disseminated intravascular coagulation. We continued administration of ST in 6 patients and stopped it in 1 patient. In patients with HIV infection, ST has a high incidence of adverse reaction, especially within one month after the beginning of ST treatment.
