Will advances in TB treatment outweigh the COVID-19 pushback ?

Shobha Shukla - CNS

Contd from prev issue
Shorter regimen for drug sensitive TB
In the 3rd episode of The Dose Podcast series, that was released on World TB Day 2021, Dr Susan Dorman, an infectious disease expert at the Medical University of South Carolina, shared the exciting results of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Tuberculosis Trials Consortium (TBTC) Study 31/A5349, which she has been closely involved with.
This phase-3 study examined the efficacy and safety of two investigational 4-month treatment regimens for the treatment of drug-susceptible pulmonary TB, compared to the currently used standard of care 6-month regimen consisting of rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide and ethambutol in the control arm. One investigational regimen used rifapentine in place of rifampin and moxifloxacin in place of ethambutol. The other investigational regimen just replaced rifampin with rifapentine.
Giving details of the study, Dr Dorman said, "The study enrolled 2500 participants in 13 countries in the regions of Africa, Asia, South America, and North America. It included adults and adolescents and also people living with HIV. Primary endpoint was the percentage of participants who were cured and remained cured till 12 months after completion of treatment.
To be contd