New TB treatment for HIV patients

A promising tactic in fighting infections

Scientists in the United States have devised a new preventive tuberculosis (TB) treatment for HIV patients that is of particular importance to developing countries. HIV patients in developing countries are at higher risk of contracting TB. In addition, lack of adequate medical facilities and difficulty complying with drug regimens that may take up to twelve months make treatment of the disease very difficult.

In a recent study published in the March 14, 1998, edition of the British medical journal The Lancet, researchers from The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Baltimore found that two other drug treatments, lasting only two or six months, proved to be equally effective.

Richard Chaisson, MD, and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins reported that twice-weekly doses of isoniazid given for six months, or rifampicin and pyrazinamide for two, kept most of the 750 HIV patients taking part in the study from contracting TB. Both treatments were well-tolerated, and "fewer than 5% of patients" developed TB during a follow-up period of 2.5 years.

TB is the leading infectious killer of adults worldwide, causing up to 30% of AIDS-related deaths. Experts predict that by the year 2020 nearly one billion more people will be affected by the airborne disease, which is spread by sneezing and coughing. Treatment should not be interrupted even if patients begin to feel better after only a few weeks of taking the drugs, caution researchers. Shorter treatment time should assure greater compliance, Chaisson says.