Three Trials, 4 Months of Therapy — A New Era in TB Management?

Two additional trials support the findings of the first one: Therapy for 4 months is not effective.

The potential benefits of shorter tuberculosis (TB) treatment duration are obvious. In three recent multinational, randomized trials involving adults with recently diagnosed pulmonary TB, researchers have examined whether 4 months of therapy is sufficient. In the first — a double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase III trial conducted in nine countries on three continents (NEJM JW Infect Dis Sep 9 2014) — investigators evaluated two 4-month regimens in which either isoniazid or ethambutol was replaced by moxifloxacin. Both were less effective than the standard 6-month regimen.

In an open-label, phase III trial conducted in sub-Saharan Africa, Merle and colleagues studied the use of a regimen in which ethambutol was replaced by gatifloxacin for …

Reviewing Author

Larry M. Baddour, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesUpToDate, Inc. (Authorship duties)

Larry M. Baddour, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesUpToDate, Inc. (Authorship duties)

Three Trials, 4 Months of Therapy — A New Era in TB Management?

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Reviewing Author