title: Prevention of Early Mortality by Presumptive Tuberculosis Therapy Study: An Open Label, Randomized Controlled Trial.
abstract: Early mortality after initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) occurs in 9-39% of patients in sub-Saharan Africa. A significant proportion of deaths are attributable to tuberculosis (TB). Low baseline CD4 T-cell count and low body mass index (BMI) are strongly associated with early mortality. We hypothesized that initiation of ART concurrent with presumptive anti-TB chemotherapy in high-risk patients would reduce mortality within the first 6 months by treating unrecognized TB. From October 2011 to December 2012, ART-naive, smear-negative participants with a CD4 T-cell count < 50 cells/μL and BMI < 18 kg/m2were randomly assigned to undergo either empiric four-drug anti-TB treatment followed 2 weeks later by efavirenz-based ART (N = 23) (ART + TB) or ART only (N = 20). This open-label, 1:1 randomized, controlled trial took place in Uganda, Mozambique, and Gabon and was stopped prematurely by the sponsor for slow recruitment. Overall, the 43 participants had a median CD4 of 22 (interquartile range [IQR]: 9-35) cells/μL and a median BMI of 17.5 (IQR: 16.6-18.0) kg/m2The mortality was 14% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.3-27.9); two (10.0%) participants (ART-only group), and four (17.4%; ART + TB group). The associated hazard ratio (HR) for all-cause mortality was 1.6 (95% CI: 0.30-8.90). Despite limited enrollment, the study did not suggest that empiric TB treatment in severely immunosuppressed patients with low BMI decreased mortality and, had an HR in the opposite direction than expected. Notably, two participants in the ART + TB group died with autopsy-confirmed drug-induced hepatotoxicity. Improved TB diagnostics sensitive in immunosuppressed patients presenting late to care are urgently needed for more targeted interventions.
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Institute, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda. ymanabe@jhmi.edu.|Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: Yukari C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Manabe
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Institute, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Worodria
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Health, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: van Leth
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Institute, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda.|Department of Medicine, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda.
authors.forename: Harriet
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mayanja-Kizza
authors.affiliation: Centre de Récherches Medicales en Lambaréné (CERMEL), Albert Schweitzer Hospital, Lambaréné, Gabon.|Department of Microbiology, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa.
authors.forename: Afsatou Ndama
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Traore
authors.affiliation: Catholic University of Mozambique, Beira, Mozambique.
authors.forename: Josefo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ferro
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Health, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pakker
authors.affiliation: Centre de Récherches Medicales en Lambaréné (CERMEL), Albert Schweitzer Hospital, Lambaréné, Gabon.|Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.affiliation: Centre de Récherches Medicales en Lambaréné (CERMEL), Albert Schweitzer Hospital, Lambaréné, Gabon.|Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.|Center of Tropical Medicine and Travel Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases, Division of Internal Medicine, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Martin P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Grobusch
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.|Global Health Institute, University of Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Colebunders
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Health, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation, The Hague, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cobelens
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017954:Africa South of the Sahara / Q000453:epidemiology; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D000995:Antitubercular Agents