Drug reference
pentamidine isethionate
Antileishmanial/Antitrypanosomal agent
Antileishmanial/Antitrypanosomal agent
CDSCO approved
EXCRETION
—
not curated
INTERACTIONS
—
none in our sources
PREGNANCY
C
FDA category + note
Mechanism
Not yet extracted
Indications
First-stage T. b. gambiense HAT (alternative to fexinidazole)
Dosing
- Adult
- 4 mg/kg per day for 7 days (IM or IV)
- Pediatric
- 4 mg/kg per day for 7 days (IM or IV)
Pharmacokinetics
Half-life
12 days
Bioavailability
well absorbed
Metabolism
highly tissue bound and excreted slowly over several weeks
Side effects
Common
hypotensionhypoglycemiapancreatitissterile abscesses at im injection sitesgi disturbancesreversible renal failureHypotension after injection (generally mild)
Serious
- hepatotoxicity
- cardiotoxicity
- delirium
- anaphylaxis
- drug-induced diabetes mellitus
- Hypoglycemia (occasionally)
- Hyperglycemia (occasionally)
- Acute pancreatitis (extremely rare)
- Anaphylaxis (extremely rare)
Pregnancy & lactation
Pregnancy
C
Related guidelines
Other Unclassified drugs
Ask House about pentamidine isethionate
Continue into a citation-backed clinical answer with the drug context already attached.
Sources: Harrison 22e·Verified: 2026-05-10 · House clinical team