Standardised shorter regimens versus individualised longer regimens for rifampin- or multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.

We sought to compare the effectiveness of two World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended regimens for the treatment of rifampin- or multidrug-resistant (RR/MDR) tuberculosis (TB): a standardised regimen of 9-12 months (the "shorter regimen") and individualised regimens of ≥20 months ("longer regimens").We collected individual patient data from observational studies identified through systematic reviews and a public call for data. We included patients meeting WHO eligibility criteria for the shorter regimen: not previously treated with second-line drugs, and with fluoroquinolone- and second-line injectable agent-susceptible RR/MDR-TB. We used propensity score matched, mixed effects meta-regression to calculate adjusted odds ratios and adjusted risk differences (aRDs) for failure or relapse, death within 12 months of treatment initiation and loss to follow-up.We included 2625 out of 3378 (77.7%) individuals from nine studies of shorter regimens and 2717 out of 13 104 (20.7%) individuals from 53 studies of longer regimens. Treatment success was higher with the shorter regimen than with longer regimens (pooled proportions 80.0% versus 75.3%), due to less loss to follow-up with the former (aRD -0.15, 95% CI -0.17- -0.12). The risk difference for failure or relapse was slightly higher with the shorter regimen overall (aRD 0.02, 95% CI 0-0.05) and greater in magnitude with baseline resistance to pyrazinamide (aRD 0.12, 95% CI 0.07-0.16), prothionamide/ethionamide (aRD 0.07, 95% CI -0.01-0.16) or ethambutol (aRD 0.09, 95% CI 0.04-0.13).In patients meeting WHO criteria for its use, the standardised shorter regimen was associated with substantially less loss to follow-up during treatment compared with individualised longer regimens and with more failure or relapse in the presence of resistance to component medications. Our findings support the need to improve access to reliable drug susceptibility testing.

Outcome of 6 months MBMDT in MB patients in Bangladesh- preliminary results.

Introduction: Duration of leprosy treatment remains long and difficult to complete in resource poor areas. Studies suggest that shortening duration of therapy for MB patients to 6 months may be possible. Methods: New MB patients in 2005 in two NGO projects in Bangladesh were treated with 6 months WHO MB MDT and the rate of relapse and fall in BI on slit skin smear during follow up to date were compared with a control group treated for 12 months the previous year. Results: 1612 patients were enrolled in the trial, and the average duration of follow up was over 7 years after diagnosis. During 11,425 PYAR of follow-up, no relapses were detected, by bacteriological or clinical criteria, in the 918 patients in the 6 months MB MDT group, nor in the 694 patients in the control group. Rate of decline of BI in those who were smear positive was not significantly different between groups. Conclusion: The data does not suggest that shortening duration of treatment from 2 months to 6 months MDT for MB leprosy patients leads to increased rates of relapse.

Short, highly effective, and inexpensive standardized treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.

RATIONALE: Based on expert opinion, the global guidelines for management of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis impose lengthy and often poorly tolerated treatments. OBJECTIVES: This observational study evaluates the effectiveness of standardized regimens for patients with proven multidrug-resistant tuberculosis previously untreated with second-line drugs in low-income countries. METHODS: Consenting patients were sequentially assigned to one of six standardized treatment regimens. Subsequent cohorts were treated with regimens adapted according to results in prior cohorts. The study was designed to minimize failure and default while reducing total treatment duration without increasing relapse frequency. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We report the treatment outcome of all patients with laboratory-confirmed, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis enrolled from May 1997 to December 2007. The most effective treatment regimen required a minimum of 9 months of treatment with gatifloxacin, clofazimine, ethambutol, and pyrazinamide throughout the treatment period supplemented by prothionamide, kanamycin, and high-dose isoniazid during an intensive phase of a minimum of 4 months, giving a relapse-free cure of 87.9% (95% confidence interval, 82.7-91.6) among 206 patients. Major adverse drug reactions were infrequent and manageable. Compared with the 221 patients treated with regimens based on ofloxacin and commonly prothionamide throughout, the hazard ratio of any adverse outcome was 0.39 (95% confidence interval, 0.26-0.59). CONCLUSIONS: Serial regimen formulation guided by overall treatment effectiveness resulted in treatment outcomes comparable to those obtained with first-line treatment. Confirmatory formal trials in populations with high levels of human immunodeficiency virus coinfection and in populations with a higher initial prevalence of resistance to second-line drugs are required.

Injectables' key role in rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis shorter treatment regimen outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Since a meta-analysis showed little or no effect of second-line injectables on treatment success, and using injectables may induce ototoxicity, injectable-free rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (RR-TB) treatment regimens are recommended. However, acquired resistance preventing activity was overlooked. No previous study assessed the effect of shortening the duration of kanamycin administration to 2 months during the intensive phase of the RR-TB shorter treatment regimen (STR). METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of the effect of using 2 months of kanamycin instead of the standard 4(+) months (extension if lack of smear conversion at 4 months) on recurrence (either treatment failure or relapse) and fluoroquinolone acquired drug resistance, in patients treated with a gatifloxacin-based STR in Damien Foundation supported clinics in Bangladesh. Logistic regression was used to estimate associations. RESULTS: Five of 52 (9.6%) treated with a STR containing two months of kanamycin had recurrence, compared to 21 of 738 (2.8%) patients treated with the standard STR containing 4(+) months of kanamycin (OR 3.7; 95%CI:1.5-10.3). In those with initially fluoroquinolone-susceptible TB, acquired resistance to fluoroquinolone was detected in none of 639 patients treated with 4(+) months of kanamycin and two (4.5%) of 44 treated with two months of kanamycin (OR 75.2; 95%CI:3.6-1592.1). CONCLUSION: Two months of kanamycin was insufficient to prevent recurrence with acquired resistance to gatifloxacin, the core drug of the most effective RR-TB STR. Injectable mediated resistance prevention is important to reach high effectiveness, to safeguard all treatment options after recurrence, and to prevent the spread of resistant TB. Studies on all-oral regimens should also assess the effect of regimen composition on resistance acquisition. Until evidence shows that other drugs can assure at least the same strong resistance preventing activity of the injectables, it seems wise to continue using this group of drugs, and adapt the regimen if any ototoxicity is detected.

Molecular characterization and drug susceptibility profile of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from Northeast Bangladesh.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major public health problem worldwide including in Bangladesh. Molecular epidemiological tools provide genotyping profiles of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) strains that can give insight into the transmission of TB in a specific region. The objective of the study was to identify the genetic diversity and drug susceptibility profile of M. tuberculosis strains circulating in the northeast Bangladesh. A total of 244 smear-positive sputum specimens were collected from two referral hospitals in Mymensingh and Netrakona districts. The isolated strains were genotyped by deletion analysis, spoligotyping, and MIRU-VNTR typing. We also analyzed the distributions of drug susceptibility pattern and demographic data among different genotypes. All isolates were identified as M. tuberculosis and among them 167 strains (68.44%) were 'ancestral' and the remaining 77 (31.56%) were 'modern' type. Spoligotyping analysis yielded 119 distinct patterns, among them, 86 isolates had unique patterns and the remaining 158 were grouped into 33 distinct clusters containing 2 to 18 isolates. The predominant spoligotypes belong to the EAI lineage strains, comprising 66 (27.04%) isolates followed by Beijing (7.38%), T1 (6.15%), CAS1-Delhi (5.33), LAM9 (3.28%), MANU-2 and X2. MIRU-VNTR analysis revealed 167 isolates (68%) had unique patterns, whereas 77 (32%) were grouped into 26 clusters and the rate of recent transmission was 20.9%, suggesting that the majority of TB cases in this region are caused by the reactivation of previous TB infections rather than recent transmission. About 136 (55.7%) isolates were sensitive to four anti-TB drugs, 69 (28.3%) were resistant to one or more (except rifampicin and isoniazid combination) drugs and 39 (15.9%) were MDR. In conclusion, our study provides a first insight into molecular characterization and drug resistance profile of M. tuberculosis strains in northeast Bangladesh which will ultimately contribute to the national TB control program.