Posted on March 05, 2018
Source: NIAID
"A one-month antibiotic regimen to prevent active tuberculosis (TB) disease was at least as safe and effective as the standard nine-month therapy for people living with HIV, according to the results of a large international clinical trial. Adults and adolescents in the trial were more likely to complete the short-course regimen—consisting of daily doses of the antibiotics rifapentine and isoniazid for four weeks—than the standard nine-month regimen of daily isoniazid.
The Phase 3 clinical trial, called ACTG 5279, was sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, and conducted by the NIAID-funded AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG). Richard E. Chaisson, M.D., professor of medicine, epidemiology and international health at Johns Hopkins University and co-chair of the trial, presented the findings March 5 at the 2018 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Boston.
'Globally, tuberculosis kills more people than any other infectious disease, and it is the leading cause of death for people living with HIV,' said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. 'These results have the potential to dramatically change clinical practice by offering people living with HIV who are at risk of developing active tuberculosis an additional, shorter-duration prevention option that is safe, effective and more convenient. This study also will inform future research on prevention of tuberculosis disease among HIV-negative people at risk for developing active tuberculosis.'"
