A dose ranging trial to optimize the dose of Rifampin in the treatment of tuberculosis

The study was funded by the EDCTP (European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership), NACCAP (Netherlands-African partnership for Capacity development and Clinical interventions Against Poverty-related diseases) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.Rationale: Rifampin at a dose of 10 mg/kg was introduced in 1971 based on pharmacokinetic, toxicity and cost considerations. Available data in mice and humans showed that an increase in dose may shorten the duration of tuberculosis treatment. Objectives: To evaluate the safety and tolerability, the pharmacokinetics and the extended early bactericidal activity of increasing doses of rifampin. Methods: Patients with drug-susceptible tuberculosis were enrolled into a control group of 8 patients receiving the standard dose of 10 mg/kg rifampin, followed by consecutive experimental groups with 15 patients each receiving rifampin 20 mg/kg, 25 mg/kg, 30 mg/kg and 35 mg/kg, respectively, for 14 days. In all patients isoniazid, pyrazinamide and ethambutol were added in standard doses for the second 7 days of treatment. Safety, pharmacokinetics of rifampin, and fall in bacterial load were assessed. Measurements and Main Results: Grade 1 and 2 adverse events were equally distributed between the five dose groups; there were 5 grade 3 events of which 1 was a possibly related hepatotoxicity. Areas under the time-concentration curves and peak serum concentrations of rifampin showed a more than proportional increase with dose. The daily fall in bacterial load over 14 days was 0.176, 0.168, 0.167, 0.265, and 0.261 log10CFU/ml sputum in the 10, 20, 25, 30 and 35 mg/kg groups respectively. Conclusions: Two weeks of rifampin up to 35 mg/kg was safe and well tolerated. There was a non-linear increase in exposure to rifampin without an apparent ceiling effect and a greater estimated fall in bacterial load in the higher dosing groups. Clinical trial registration available at www.clinicaltrials.gove, ID NCT01392911.PostprintPeer reviewe

Patient satisfaction with TB care clinical consultations in Kampala: a cross sectional study.

Background: Patient satisfaction towards care during encounter with clinicians is key for better treatment outcomes. We assessed patient satisfaction with TB clinical care consultations in Kampala, Uganda. Methods: This was a facility-based cross sectional study done between September 2012 and February 2013 using qualitative method of data collection. Participants consecutively completed a pre-tested structured satisfaction questionnaire. A criteria of the rating as good; >75% was considered acceptable, (50-75%) as more effort is needed and <50 as unacceptable and require immediate action was used to categorize data for analysis using Epi-info 7.1.4.0. Results: Of the 260 registered TB patients, 178(68.5%) completed the questionnaire. Overall, 162 (91.0%) were satisfied with the clinical consultation. Factors that contributed to high patient satisfaction, were: time spent with clinician (85.4%), explanation of what was done (87.6%), technical skills (91.6%), personal manner of the clinician seen (91.6%). Factors for low satisfaction were; waiting time before getting an appointment (61.8%), convenience of location of consultation office (53.4%), getting through to the office by phone (21.3%) and length of time waiting at the office (61.2%). Conclusion: Tuberculosis patients in Kampala are satisfied with TB clinical care consultations. Addressing factors with low patient satisfaction may significantly impact on treatment outcome

Effect of seven anti-tuberculosis treatment regimens on sputum microbiome : a retrospective analysis of the HIGHRIF study 2 and PanACEA MAMS-TB clinical trials

Funding: European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership and German Ministry of Education and Research.Background Respiratory tract microbiota has been described as the gatekeeper for respiratory health. We aimed to assess the impact of standard-of-care and experimental anti-tuberculosis treatment regimens on the respiratory microbiome and implications for treatment outcomes. Methods In this retrospective study, we analysed the sputum microbiome of participants with tuberculosis treated with six experimental regimens versus standard-of-care who were part of the HIGHRIF study 2 (NCT00760149 ) and PanACEA MAMS-TB (NCT01785186 ) clinical trials across a 3-month treatment follow-up period. Samples were from participants in Mbeya, Kilimanjaro, Bagamoyo, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Experimental regimens were composed of different combinations of rifampicin (R), isoniazid (H), pyrazinamide (Z), ethambutol (E), moxifloxacin (M), and a new drug, SQ109 (Q). Reverse transcription was used to create complementary DNA for each participant's total sputum RNA and the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was sequenced using the Illumina metagenomic technique. Qiime was used to analyse the amplicon sequence variants and estimate alpha diversity. Descriptive statistics were applied to assess differences in alpha diversity pre-treatment and post-treatment initiation and the effect of each treatment regimen. Findings Sequence data were obtained from 397 pre-treatment and post-treatment samples taken between Sept 26, 2008, and June 30, 2015, across seven treatment regimens. Pre-treatment microbiome (206 genera) was dominated by Firmicutes (2860 [44%] of 6500 amplicon sequence variants [ASVs]) at the phylum level and Streptococcus (2340 [36%] ASVs) at the genus level. Two regimens had a significant depressing effect on the microbiome after 2 weeks of treatment, HR20mg/kgZM (Shannon diversity index p=0·0041) and HR35mg/kgZE (p=0·027). Gram-negative bacteria were the most sensitive to bactericidal activity of treatment with the highest number of species suppressed being under the moxifloxacin regimen. By week 12 after treatment initiation, microbiomes had recovered to pre-treatment level except for the HR35mg/kgZE regimen and for genus Mycobacterium, which did not show recovery across all regimens. Tuberculosis culture conversion to negative by week 8 of treatment was associated with clearance of genus Neisseria, with a 98% reduction of the pre-treatment level. Interpretation HR20mg/kgZM was effective against tuberculosis without limiting microbiome recovery, which implies a shorter efficacious anti-tuberculosis regimen with improved treatment outcomes might be achieved without harming the commensal microbiota.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

INNOVATIONS AND FRAGMENTS OF TRADITION IN SLOVENIAN VILLAGES

In this paper the author reports on some results of an investigation of innovations in ten different types of village in Slovenia. The investigation was designed to establish (1) the rate of development of rural communities in Slovenia (measured according to the diffusion of innovations), and (2) the influence of tradition (from the degree of the distribution of »isoetes«, i.e. local customs). , Two groups of innovations were investigated: innovations in land cultivation methods on peasant farms, and innovations in the equipment of rural households. The data were collected using the method of interviews, which were held with both pure farmers and peasants-workers in 1968 and again in 1973. The obtained results regarding the spread of farm innovations are shown in Diagram 1; the results regarding the spread of innovations in household equipment are presented graphically in Diagram 2; while Diagram 3 indicates the »standing« of each village as regards the degree of innovation it has achieved with all the 25 controled innovations. As was expected, the highest degree of innovation is shown by villages with the largest proportion of inhabitants in temporary employment abroad and villages vhich contain a comparatively numerous category of peasants-workers

Cardiac safety of bedaquiline, delamanid and moxifloxacin co-administered with or without varying doses of sutezolid or delpazolid for the treatment of drug-susceptible TB

Funding: This study was conducted by the PanACEA consortium, funded by the EDCTP2 programme (grant number TRIA2015-1102) with support from the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF; 01KA1701); further funding was contributed by the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research, and Innovation (SERI) and Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO). Otsuka provided delamanid for these studies at no cost to the consortium.Introduction: Many drugs for the treatment of TB prolong the QTc interval, which is associated with an increased risk of developing a life-threatening arrhythmia known as torsades de pointes. Sutezolid and delpazolid are novel oxazolidinones with demonstrated bactericidal activity. We aimed to assess the effects of sutezolid or delpazolid co-administered with bedaquiline, delamanid and moxifloxacin on the QTcF interval (Fridericia’s correction). Furthermore, we developed a population pharmacodynamic model to assess the effects of drug exposure on the QTcTBT interval (TB-specific correction). Methods: Participants were randomized to receive standard-dose bedaquiline, delamanid and moxifloxacin with varying doses of either sutezolid (no sutezolid, 600 mg daily, 1200 mg daily, 600 mg twice daily, 800 mg twice daily) or delpazolid (no delpazolid, 400 mg daily, 800 mg daily, 1200 mg daily, 800 mg twice daily). The QTc interval was determined using weekly ECG assessments. Results: Data from 149 participants, yielding 2373 ECG observations were available for analysis. Nine participants (6.0%) experienced a Grade 3 QTcF prolongation as defined by the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v5.0. The population pharmacodynamic model predicted a 13.2 ms (95% CI: 10.9–15.3) increase of the QTcTBT in the first week of treatment, but no further increase after that. The exposure of bedaquiline’s M2 metabolite was found to drive part of the QTcTBT. No exposure–response relationship was identified for the other drugs investigated. Conclusions: The drug regimens containing standard doses of bedaquiline, delamanid and moxifloxacin, and varying doses of sutezolid or delpazolid were not found to pose a high cardiac risk in a population without further QTc-relevant risk factors. However, close monitoring of the QTc interval remains essential in patients with TB treated with combination drug therapy with known QTc-prolonging drugs.Peer reviewe

Phenotypic changes on Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific CD4 T cells as surrogate markers for tuberculosis treatment efficacy

This work was supported by the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) (PanACEA, grant numbers IP.2007.32011.011, IP.2007.32011.012, IP.2007.32011.013), by the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF; Grant No. 01KA0901) by the European Commission, DG XII, INCO-DC (grant ICA-CT-2002-10048) and by the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF).Background: The analysis of phenotypic characteristics on Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB)-specific T cells is a promising approach for the diagnosis of active tuberculosis (aTB) and for monitoring treatment success. We therefore studied phenotypic changes on MTB-specific CD4 T cells upon anti-tuberculosis treatment initiation in relation to the treatment response as determined by sputum culture. Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from subjects with latent MTB infection (n=16) and aTB (n=39) at baseline, week 9, 12 and 26 (end of treatment) were analyzed after intracellular interferon gamma staining and overnight stimulation with tuberculin. Liquid sputum cultures were performed weekly until week 12 and during 4 visits until week 26. Results: T cell activation marker expression on MTB-specific CD4 T cells differed significantly between subjects with aTB and latent MTB infection with no overlap for the frequencies of CD38pos and Ki67pos cells (both p < 0.0001). At 9 weeks after anti-TB treatment initiation the frequencies of activation marker (CD38, HLA-DR, Ki67) positive MTB-specific, but not total CD4 T cells, were significantly reduced (p < 0.0001). Treatment induced phenotypic changes from baseline until week 9 and until week 12 differed substantially between individual aTB patients and correlated with an individual's time to stable sputum culture conversion for expression of CD38 and HLA-DR (both p < 0.05). In contrast, the frequencies of maturation marker CD27 positive MTB-specific CD4 T cells remained largely unchanged until week 26 and significantly differed between subjects with treated TB disease and latent MTB infection (p = 0.0003). Discussion: Phenotypic changes of MTB-specific T cells are potential surrogate markers for tuberculosis treatment efficacy and can help to discriminate between aTB (profile: CD38pos, CD27low), treated TB (CD38neg, CD27low), and latent MTB infection (CD38neg, CD27high).Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Patient satisfaction with TB care clinical consultations in Kampala: a cross sectional study

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Tuberculosis Molecular Bacterial Load Assay reveals early delayed bacterial killing in patients with relapse

Funding: this work was supported by several funding agencies. The PanACEA MAMS study was funded by the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP1); Grant No. IP.2007.32011.013, IP.2007.32011.012, and IP.2007.32011.011 as well as by the German Ministry of Education and Research (01KA0901). This analysis was funded by the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF); grant no. 02.702.Bacterial killing in patients with tuberculosis (TB) relapse was compared to that in patients achieving cure, measured by TB molecular bacterial load assay (TB-MBLA) or mycobacteria growth indicator tube (MGIT) time to positivity (TTP). TB-MBLA in 4 relapsed patients was significantly different compared to 132 cured patients after 2 weeks of treatment; MGIT TTP showed a significant difference from week 8.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Increased bactericidal activity but dose-limiting intolerability at 50 mg·kg-1 rifampicin.

Accumulating data indicate that higher rifampicin doses are more effective and shorten tuberculosis (TB) treatment duration. This study evaluated the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and 7- and 14-day early bactericidal activity (EBA) of increasing doses of rifampicin. Here we report the results of the final cohorts of PanACEA HIGHRIF1, a dose escalation study in treatment-naive adult smear-positive patients with TB. Patients received, in consecutive cohorts, 40 or 50 mg·kg-1 rifampicin once daily in monotherapy (day 1-7), supplemented with standard dose isoniazid, pyrazinamide and ethambutol between days 8 and 14. In the 40 mg·kg-1 cohort (n=15), 13 patients experienced a total of 36 adverse events during monotherapy, resulting in one treatment discontinuation. In the 50 mg·kg-1 cohort (n=17), all patients experienced adverse events during monotherapy, 93 in total; 11 patients withdrew or stopped study medication. Adverse events were mostly mild/moderate and tolerability rather than safety related, i.e. gastrointestinal disorders, pruritis, hyperbilirubinaemia and jaundice. There was a more than proportional increase in the rifampicin geometric mean area under the plasma concentration-time curve from time 0 to 12 h (AUC0-24 h) for 50 mg·kg-1 compared with 40 mg·kg-1; 571 (range 320-995) versus 387 (range 201-847) mg·L-1·h, while peak exposures saw proportional increases. Protein-unbound exposure after 50 mg·kg-1 (11% (range 8-17%)) was comparable with lower rifampicin doses. Rifampicin exposures and bilirubin concentrations were correlated (Spearman's ρ=0.670 on day 3, p&lt;0.001). EBA increased considerably with dose, with the highest seen after 50 mg·kg-1: 14-day EBA -0.427 (95% CI -0.500- -0.355) log10CFU·mL-1·day-1. Although associated with an increased bactericidal effect, the 50 mg·kg-1 dose was not well tolerated. Rifampicin at 40 mg·kg-1 was well tolerated and therefore selected for evaluation in a phase IIc treatment-shortening trial