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The time-honored way to prevent latent tuberculosis (TB) from turning into full-blown infection is a 6- to 12-month course of daily isoniazid (INH). However, adherence to this regimen often is poor, and its effectiveness winds up being considerably less than the 90% figure established in clinical trials — thus, the ongoing interest in shorter regimens.
In a recent open-label study, more than 7500 individuals at high risk for TB were randomized to 9-month courses of daily self-administered INH or 3-month courses of INH with rifapentine (a long-acting rifamycin), which was administered weekly as directly observed therapy (DOT). Most participants were young adults from the U.S. or Canada with histories of exposure to active TB or recent convers…