Quantification of multidrug-resistant bacilli in sputum during the first 8 weeks of treatment.

Mulago Hospital, Kampala, Uganda. To quantify in sputum during the first 8 weeks of pulmonary multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) treatment. We enrolled consecutive adults with pulmonary MDR-TB treated according to national guidelines.

Drug susceptibility patterns of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from adults with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and implications for a household contact preventive therapy trial.

Background: Drug susceptibility testing (DST) patterns of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) from patients with rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (RR-TB) or multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB; or resistant to rifampicin and isoniazid (INH)), are important to guide preventive therapy for their household contacts (HHCs).

Methods: As part of a feasibility study done in preparation for an MDR-TB preventive therapy trial in HHCs, smear, Xpert MTB/RIF, Hain MTBDRplus, culture and DST results of index MDR-TB patients were obtained from routine TB programs. A sputum sample was collected at study entry and evaluated by the same tests.

Increased Doses Lead to Higher Drug Exposures of Levofloxacin for Treatment of Tuberculosis.

Patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Peru and South Africa were randomized to a weight-banded nominal dose of 11, 14, 17, or 20 mg/kg/day levofloxacin (minimum, 750 mg) in combination with other second-line agents. A total of 101 patients were included in noncompartmental pharmacokinetic analyses. Respective median areas under the concentration-time curve from 0 to 24 h (AUC) were 109.

An optimized background regimen design to evaluate the contribution of levofloxacin to multidrug-resistant tuberculosis treatment regimens: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Current guidelines for treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) are largely based on expert opinion and observational data. Fluoroquinolones remain an essential part of MDR-TB treatment, but the optimal dose of fluoroquinolones as part of the regimen has not been defined.

Methods/design: We designed a randomized, blinded, phase II trial in MDR-TB patients comparing across levofloxacin doses of 11, 14, 17 and 20 mg/kg/day, all within an optimized background regimen.