title: Outcomes of patients with multidrug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis treated with ofloxacin/levofloxacin-containing regimens.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze outcomes of patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) treated with ofloxacin/levofloxacin-containing regimens.
  
  
  METHODS
  From February 1990 through June 1997, 63 MDR-TB patients (with bacillary resistance to at least isoniazid and rifampin in vitro) were analyzed retrospectively. Twenty-two patients (34.9%) had had no previous antituberculosis chemotherapy. Each patient received either ofloxacin (53) or levofloxacin (10) even though 13 patients had bacilli resistant to ofloxacin in vitro. The other accompanying drugs mainly included aminoglycosides, cycloserine, ethionamide/prothionamide, and pyrazinamide. Sputum smear and culture examinations for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) were performed monthly for the initial 6 months and then at 2- to 3-month intervals until the end of treatment. Comparison was made between clinical successes and failures using univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses for the following variables: age, sex, presence of cavitation, extent of disease, sputum smear positivity, in vitro resistance to ofloxacin, in vitro resistance to streptomycin and/or ethambutol, treatment adherence, and the number of drugs per regimen.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-one patients (81.0%) were cured, nine patients (14.3%) failed, and three patients (4.7%) died. For the entire group, the mean duration of treatment was 14.0 months, and the mean number of drugs was 4.7. Mean durations of chemotherapy in successful and failed patients were 14.5 and 14.2 months, respectively. Mean time for sputum smear and culture conversions were 1.7 and 2.1 months, respectively. Only cavitation, resistance to ofloxacin, and poor adherence were found to be variables independently associated with adverse outcomes (p < 0.05; odds ratios = 15.9, 13.5, 12.8, respectively). Negative sputum cultures after 2 and 3 months of therapy were 100% predictive of cure. Positive sputum cultures after 2 and 3 months were 52.3% and 84.6% predictive of failure, respectively. One patient (2.1%) relapsed after apparent cure. Twenty-five patients experienced adverse drug reactions, but only 12 of them needed drug modifications.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most MDR-TB patients can be treated effectively with ofloxacin/levofloxacin-containing regimens. Presence of cavitation, resistance to ofloxacin in vitro, and poor adherence to therapy portend treatment failure. Monitoring monthly sputum culture for AFB in the initial months of chemotherapy helps predict clinical outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Tuberculosis and Chest Unit, Grantham Hospital, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: W W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Yew
authors.forename: C K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chau
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Tam
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D064704:Levofloxacin; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects; D015242:Ofloxacin / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D018088:Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D064704:Levofloxacin; D015242:Ofloxacin