Early bactericidal activity of paromomycin (aminosidine) in patients with smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis.
The early bactericidal activity of the aminoglycoside paromomycin (aminosidine) in doses of 7.5 and 15 mg/kg of body weight was measured in 22 patients with previously untreated smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis. The fall in log(10) CFU per milliliter of sputum per day during the first 2 days of treatment for 7 patients receiving a paromomycin dosage of 7.5 mg/kg/day was 0.066, with a standard deviation (SD) of 0.216 and confidence limits from -0.134 to 0.266, and that for 15 patients receiving 15 mg/kg/day was 0.0924, with an SD of 0.140 and confidence limits from 0.015 to 0.170. The difference between the mean and zero was not significant for the 7. 5-mg/kg dose group but was significant for the 15-mg/kg dose group (t = 2.55, P = 0.023). Since paromomycin has no cross-resistance with streptomycin and has no greater toxicity than other aminoglycosides, these results suggest that it has the potential to substitute for streptomycin in antituberculosis regimens and may be a particularly valuable addition to the drug armamentarium for the management of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.
Donald
P R
PR
Departments of Pediatrics and Child Health, Tygerberg Hospital, Tygerberg, South Africa. aec1@gerga.sun.ac.za
Sirgel
F A
FA
Kanyok
T P
TP
Danziger
L H
LH
Venter
A
A
Botha
F J
FJ
Parkin
D P
DP
Seifart
H I
HI
Van De Wal
B W
BW
Maritz
J S
JS
Mitchison
D A
DA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001407:Bacillus / Q000187:drug effects; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D006801:Humans; D010303:Paromomycin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016369:Smear Layer; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D010303:Paromomycin