Pentamidine Inhalation

Pentamidine is an anti-infective agent that helps to treat or prevent pneumonia caused by the organism Pneumocystis carinii. This medication is sometimes prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Pentamidine comes as a solution to be inhaled using a nebulizer. It usually is used once every 4 weeks. Inhalation of pentamidine delivers the drug directly to your lungs. Your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist will show you how to use the nebulizer. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Take pentamidine exactly as directed. Do not take more or less of it or take it more often than prescribed by your doctor.

<p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>Pentamidine may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:

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fatigue</li>
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metallic taste</li>
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cough</li>
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dizziness</li>
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burning sensation in your throat</li>
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decreased appetite</li>
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lightheadedness or faintness</li>
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itching</li>
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upset stomach</li>
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vomiting</li>
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night sweats or chills</li></ul></p> <p></p> <p>If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately:

<ul>
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chest pain</li>
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abnormal heartbeat</li>
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shortness of breath or difficulty breathing</li>
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skin rash</li>
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confusion</li>
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slurred speech</li></ul>If you experience a serious side effect, you or your doctor may send a report to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online [at <a href='http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch'>http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch</a>] or by phone [1-800-332-1088].</p>

Before taking pentamidine, tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to pentamidine or any other drugs. tell your doctor and pharmacist what prescription and nonprescription medications you are taking or have recently taken, especially antibiotics, amphotericin B (Fungizone), cisplatin (Platinol), foscarnet (Foscavir), and vitamins. tell your doctor if you have or have ever had asthma; hay fever; high or low blood pressure; diabetes; high or low blood sugar; anemia; severe skin allergic reaction; or heart, kidney, liver, or pancreatic disease.

In case of overdose, call your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222. If the victim has collapsed or is not breathing, call local emergency services at 911.