[Side effects of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in patients with AIDS].

Forty-nine episodes of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, treated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole among 46 patients with AIDS were analysed retrospectively for any side effects. For only two were there insufficient data. There were 39 toxic reactions, 15 of them serious: leukopenia (n = 23), abnormal liver functions (n = 14), skin changes (n = 12), gastrointestinal complaints (n = 10) and thrombocytopenia (n = 9). In nine patients the treatment had to be discontinued, in six of them so early that a switch to pentamidine was necessary. Gastrointestinal symptoms occurred as early as the sixth day of treatment, while leukopenia and thrombocytopenia were first observed after 12-13 days. Despite the high rate of side effects trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole remains the drugs of choice, other regimens not having been found to be any better.