Cryptosporidiosis medical therapy
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Kalsang Dolma, M.B.B.S.[2]
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Medical Therapy
- Supportive care:
- Diarrhea can be managed by drinking plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration. People who are in poor health or who have weakened immune systems are at higher risk for more severe and prolonged illness. Young children and pregnant women may be more susceptible to dehydration resulting from diarrhea and should drink plenty of fluids while ill. Rapid loss of fluids from diarrhea may be especially life threatening to babies. Therefore, parents should talk to their health care providers about fluid replacement therapy options for infants.
- Anti-diarrheal medicine may help slow down diarrhea, but a health care provider should be consulted before such medicine is taken. Nitazoxanide has been FDA-approved for treatment of diarrhea caused by Cryptosporidium in people with healthy immune systems and is available by prescription. However, the effectiveness of nitazoxanide in immunosuppressed individuals is unclear.
- HIV-positive individuals who suspect they have cryptosporidiosis should contact their health care provider. For those persons with AIDS, anti retroviral therapy that improves the immune status will also decrease or eliminate symptoms of cryptosporidiosis. However, even if symptoms disappear, cryptosporidiosis is often not curable and the symptoms may return if the immune status worsens.
- Medical Therapy
- 1. Immunocompetent[1]
- Preferred regimen: No specific therapy recommended since healthy patients usually recover within a few weeks, but if needed: Nitazoxanide 500 mg PO bid for 3 days.[2]
- 2. HIV[3]
- Preferred regimen: Nitazoxanide 500 mg PO bid for 3 days
- Preferred regimen: Effective antiretroviral therapy since immune restoration with a CD4 count greater than 100 cells/microL is associated with complete resolution of symptoms.
- Note: Nitazoxanide is not licensed for immunodeficient patients. In one study, HIV-infected adults with cryptosporidiosis with CD4 counts >50 cells/μL were treated with nitazoxanide 500 to 1000 mg twice daily for 14 days; they experienced substantially higher rates of parasitological cure and resolution of diarrhea than those in the placebo group.
External Link
http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/crypto/treatment.html
References
- ↑ Gilbert, David (2015). The Sanford guide to antimicrobial therapy. Sperryville, Va: Antimicrobial Therapy. ISBN 978-1930808843.
- ↑ Smith HV, Corcoran GD (2004). "New drugs and treatment for cryptosporidiosis". Curr Opin Infect Dis. 17 (6): 557–64. PMID 15640710.
- ↑ Gilbert, David (2015). The Sanford guide to antimicrobial therapy. Sperryville, Va: Antimicrobial Therapy. ISBN 978-1930808843.
- ↑ Gilbert, David (2015). The Sanford guide to antimicrobial therapy. Sperryville, Va: Antimicrobial Therapy. ISBN 978-1930808843.
- ↑ https://aidsinfo.nih.gov/contentfiles/lvguidelines/adult_oi.pdf