Efficacy of a 9-Month Oral Treatment Regimen for Rifampicin-Resistant Tuberculosis
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Reviewed & Translated by Dat Tien Nguyen, B.A, ScM.
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Posted on July 10th, 2024
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Vietnam is classified by the World Health Organization as a country significantly impacted by tuberculosis, with 5% of cases exhibiting multidrug resistance. Before 2019, the standard treatment for multidrug-resistant and rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis involved a 24-month course of injectable medications. In 2020, recommendations shifted to a 9-month oral regimen. A recent study published in The Lancet evaluated the efficacy of this shorter oral treatment regimen.
The prospective cohort study was conducted across 13 countries in the WHO European region and included 2,636 participants with a median age of 43 years. These participants had rifampicin-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis that remained susceptible to fluoroquinolones. More than half of the cohort were smokers, 20% had anemia, and 10% were HIV-positive. Most participants received different combinations of levofloxacin, bedaquiline, linezolid, clofazimine, and cycloserine, with a small percentage treated without cycloserine or with delamanid instead. After the 9-month treatment regimen, participants were followed for an additional 12 months. Researchers found that 79% of those treated with the oral short-term regimen did not experience disease recurrence, treatment failure, and death. The most commonly reported adverse event was myelosuppression. The researchers noted that future studies should focus on smoking cessation and social support of patients affected with tuberculosis.
The prospective cohort study was conducted across 13 countries in the WHO European region and included 2,636 participants with a median age of 43 years. These participants had rifampicin-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis that remained susceptible to fluoroquinolones. More than half of the cohort were smokers, 20% had anemia, and 10% were HIV-positive. Most participants received different combinations of levofloxacin, bedaquiline, linezolid, clofazimine, and cycloserine, with a small percentage treated without cycloserine or with delamanid instead. After the 9-month treatment regimen, participants were followed for an additional 12 months. Researchers found that 79% of those treated with the oral short-term regimen did not experience disease recurrence, treatment failure, and death. The most commonly reported adverse event was myelosuppression. The researchers noted that future studies should focus on smoking cessation and social support of patients affected with tuberculosis.