A regimen based on the combination of trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole with caspofungin and corticosteroids as a first-line therapy for patients with severe non-HIV-related pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia: a retrospective study in a tertiary hospital
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Published:2024-01-31
Issue:1
Volume:24
Page:
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ISSN:1471-2334
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Container-title:BMC Infectious Diseases
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language:en
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Short-container-title:BMC Infect Dis
Author:
Li Hao,Lu Yihe,Tian Guoxin,Wu Yongxing,Chen Tianjun,Zhang Jiangwei,Hu Nan,Wang Xiaoning,Wang Yang,Gao Lan,Yan Jinqi,Zhou Linjing,Shi Qindong
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) is a life-threatening and severe disease in immunocompromised hosts. A synergistic regimen based on the combination of sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (SMX-TMP) with caspofungin and glucocorticosteroids (GCSs) may be a potential first-line therapy for PJP. Therefore, it is important to explore the efficacy and safety of this synergistic therapy for treating non-HIV-related PJP patients.
Methods
We retrospectively analysed the data of 38 patients with non-HIV-related PJP at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University. Patients were divided into two groups: the synergistic therapy group (ST group, n = 20) and the monotherapy group (MT group, n = 18). All patients were from the ICU and were diagnosed with severe PJP. In the ST group, all patients were treated with SMX-TMP (TMP 15–20 mg/kg per day) combined with caspofungin (70 mg as the loading dose and 50 mg/day as the maintenance dose) and a GCS (methylprednisolone 40–80 mg/day). Patients in the MT group were treated only with SMX-TMP (TMP 15–20 mg/kg per day). The clinical response, adverse events and mortality were compared between the two groups.
Results
The percentage of patients with a positive clinical response in the ST group was significantly greater than that in the MT group (100.00% vs. 66.70%, P = 0.005). The incidence of adverse events in the MT group was greater than that in the ST group (50.00% vs. 15.00%, P = 0.022). Furthermore, the dose of TMP and duration of fever in the ST group were markedly lower than those in the MT group (15.71 mg/kg/day vs. 18.35 mg/kg/day (P = 0.001) and 7.00 days vs. 11.50 days (P = 0.029), respectively). However, there were no significant differences in all-cause mortality or duration of hospital stay between the MT group and the ST group.
Conclusions
Compared with SMZ/TMP monotherapy, synergistic therapy (SMZ-TMP combined with caspofungin and a GCS) for the treatment of non-HIV-related PJP can increase the clinical response rate, decrease the incidence of adverse events and shorten the duration of fever. These results indicate that synergistic therapy is effective and safe for treating severe non-HIV-related PJP.
Funder
Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shaanxi Province
National Nature Science Foundation of China
the Dr Li Jieshou (Academician of CAS) Research Fund for Intestinal Barrier
the clinical research award of the first affiliated hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong university
National Natural Science Foundation of China
the National Nature Science Foundation of China
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
Infectious Diseases
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