A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Paromomycin for Treatment of Cryptosporidiosis in Patients With Advanced HIV Disease and CD4 Counts Under 150 Cells/mm3

To determine the effectiveness of oral paromomycin sulfate for 21 days compared to placebo in the treatment of cryptosporidiosis in patients with HIV infection. To evaluate the safety of oral paromomycin at two different doses. To explore whether paromomycin administered over a longer period provides additional benefit. In previous studies, patients with cryptosporidiosis demonstrated dramatic improvement with paromomycin therapy. In previous studies, patients with cryptosporidiosis demonstrated dramatic improvement with paromomycin therapy. Patients are randomized to receive either placebo or paromomycin for 3 weeks. After the initial double-blind phase, all patients receive open-label paromomycin for 3 weeks. Following 6 weeks of therapy, patients who do not achieve a complete response receive a higher dose of paromomycin for an additional 3 weeks, while complete responders continue receiving the original dose for an additional 3 weeks. Complete or partial responders after 9 weeks may receive 16 additional weeks of optional maintenance therapy at the dose at which their response was achieved. Treatment continues for up to 25 weeks total. Patients are followed at weeks 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 9, and then at 2-4 week intervals.