Pentamidine Isethionate: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Pentamidine Isethionate is an antiprotozoal sold in the U.S. under one brand, for visceral leishmaniasis, pneumocystis pneumonia and trypanosomiasis. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Drug class
- Antiprotozoal
- Treats
- Visceral Leishmaniasis, Pneumocystis Pneumonia and Trypanosomiasis
- Available as
- Spray/Inhaler
- Sold as
- Nebupent
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Not in our catalog
How pentamidine isethionate is dosed
From the FDA label for Nebupent (application NDA019887). Other pentamidine isethionate products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
IMPORTANT: NEBUPENT MUST BE DISSOLVED ONLY IN STERILE WATER FOR INJECTION, USP. DO NOT USE SALINE SOLUTION FOR RECONSTITUTION BECAUSE THE DRUG WILL PRECIPITATE. DO NOT MIX THE NEBUPENT SOLUTION WITH ANY OTHER DRUGS. DO NOT USE THE RESPIRGARD ® II NEBULIZER TO ADMINISTER A BRONCHODILATOR. Reconstitution The contents of one vial (300 mg) must be dissolved in 6 mL Sterile Water for Injection, USP. Place the entire reconstituted contents of the vial into the Respirgard ® II nebulizer reservoir for administration. Dosage The recommended adult dosage of NebuPent for the prevention of Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia is 300 mg once every four weeks administered via the Respirgard ® II nebulizer. The dose should be delivered until the nebulizer chamber is empty (approximately 30 to 45 minutes). The flow rate should be 5 to 7 liters per minute from a 40 to 50 pounds per square inch (PSI) air or oxygen source. Alternatively, a 40 to 50 PSI air compressor can be used with flow limited by setting the flowmeter at 5 to 7 liters per minute or by setting the pressure at 22 to 25 PSI. Low pressure (less than 20 PSI) compressors should not be used. Stability Freshly prepared solutions for aerosol use are recommended. After reconstitution with sterile water, the NebuPent solution is stable for 48 hours in the original vial at room temperature if protected from light. Reconstitution The contents…
Pentamidine Isethionate side effects
The most frequently reported unsolicited adverse events (1 to 5%) in clinical trials, regardless of their relation to NebuPent therapy were as follows (n=931): Body as a Whole: Night sweats. Gastrointestinal: Diarrhea and nausea. Hematologic: Anemia. Infection: Bronchitis, non-specific herpes, herpes zoster, non-specific influenza, oral Candida, pharyngitis, sinusitis, and upper respiratory tract. Nervous System: Headache. Respiratory System: Chest pain, cough, and wheezing. Special Senses: Bad taste. Adverse events of less than 1% incidence were as follows (No causal relationship to treatment has been established for these adverse events): Body as a Whole: Allergic reaction, non-specific allergy, body odor, facial edema, fever, leg edema, lethargy, low body temperature, and temperature abnormality. Cardiovascular: Cerebrovascular accident, hypotension, hypertension, palpitations, poor circulation, syncope, tachycardia, vasodilatation and vasculitis. Gastrointestinal: Abdominal cramps, abdominal pain, constipation, dry mouth, dyspepsia, gastritis, gastric ulcer, gingivitis, hiatal hernia, hypersalivation, oral ulcer/abscess, splenomegaly, and vomiting. Hematological: Eosinophilia, neutropenia, non-specific cytopenia, pancytopenia, and thrombocytopenia. Hepatic: Hepatitis, hepatomegaly, and hepatic dysfunction. Infection: Bacterial pneumonia, central venous line related…
Who shouldn’t take pentamidine isethionate
NebuPent is contraindicated in patients with a history of an anaphylactic reaction to inhaled or parenteral pentamidine isethionate.
Every pentamidine isethionate product we track (1)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
Only one: Nebupent.
How long pentamidine isethionate keeps
The date on a sealed pack is not the only one: some pentamidine isethionate labels start a second clock once the product is opened or mixed, as short as 48 hours.
Does pentamidine isethionate expire? The in-use limits and storage rules from its labelsWhat people report to the FDA about pentamidine isethionate
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 1,144 reports naming pentamidine isethionate, and the FDA flagged 94% of those reports as serious. The effects reported most often — leaving out reports about overdose, misuse or the condition being treated, which dominate the raw list for common medicines:
- febrile neutropenia158 reports
- pyrexia136 reports
- aplastic anaemia98 reports
- diarrhoea80 reports
- neutropenia76 reports
- mucosal inflammation66 reports
- pancytopenia61 reports
- pneumonia56 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean pentamidine isethionate caused the effect — anyone can file one, and many describe people taking several medicines for several conditions. Crucially there is no denominator: FAERS does not record how many people took the drug, so these counts cannot be turned into “X% of patients” — a bigger number often just means a more widely used or more talked-about drug. Duplicates exist, and publicity drives reporting. For what is actually established, read the FDA label section above.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved July 25, 2026.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
What is pentamidine isethionate?
Nebupent (Pentamidine Isethionate) is an antiprotozoal used to treat Visceral Leishmaniasis, Pneumocystis Pneumonia, Trypanosomiasis.
What kind of drug is pentamidine isethionate?
The FDA classifies pentamidine isethionate as an antiprotozoal. If you are checking whether it is safe to combine with something else, the class is what matters — two drugs from the same class usually should not be stacked.
Can you take pentamidine isethionate with other medicines?
It depends on the medicine. We check it against the FDA labels rather than guessing: our interaction checker searches each drug's own label for the other and quotes what it says, naming the section it came from. Run pentamidine isethionate against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.
What forms does pentamidine isethionate come in?
Across the brands we track, pentamidine isethionate is currently marketed as spray/inhaler, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory. Each form is dosed differently — follow the label for the exact product you were prescribed.
Is there a generic pentamidine isethionate?
We do not currently list a generic-labelled pentamidine isethionate product. That does not always mean none exists — it means none appears under a generic name in the FDA data we track. Ask your pharmacist.
Cite this page
- APA
- pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Pentamidine Isethionate: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/pentamidine-isethionate
- MLA
- “Pentamidine Isethionate: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/pentamidine-isethionate.
We summarise public FDA and NIH sources — for a clinical claim, cite the primary source we link to as well.
Sources: FDA openFDA drug label, National Drug Code Directory, and Enforcement (recall) database. This page reproduces public FDA data and is not medical advice. Dosing is set by your prescriber.
Read the full FDA label for pentamidine isethionate on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.