• François-Xavier Blanc, Anani D Badje, Maryline Bonnet, Delphine Gabillard, Eugène Messou, Conrad Muzoora, Sovannarith Samreth, Bang D Nguyen, Laurence Borand, Anaïs Domergue, Delphine Rapoud, Naome Natukunda, Sopheak Thai, Sylvain Juchet, Serge P Eholié, Stephen D Lawn, Serge K Domoua, Xavier Anglaret, Didier Laureillard, and STATIS ANRS 12290 Trial Team.
• From the Department of Respiratory Medicine, L'Institut du Thorax, Nantes University Hospital, and the Medical School, University of Nantes, Nantes (F.-X.B.), INSERM Unité 1219, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux (A.D.B., D.G., X.A.), Relations Translationnelles sur le VIH et les Maladies Infectieuses, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, University of Montpellier, INSERM (M.B.), and Research Unit 1058 Pathogenesis and Control Chronical Infections, INSERM, French Blood Center, University of Montpellier (D.L.), Montpellier, and the Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Nîmes University Hospital, Nîmes (D.L.) - all in France; Programme ANRS (Agence Nationale de Recherches sur le Sida et les Hépatites Virales) Coopération Côte d'Ivoire, ANRS research site (A.D.B., E.M., S.J.), and Félix Houphouët-Boigny University (S.P.E., S.K.D.) - both in Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Epicentre (M.B., N.N.) and Mbarara University of Science and Technology (C.M.) - both in Mbarara, Uganda; the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology, and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (S.S.), Institut Pasteur du Cambodge (L.B.), and Sihanouk Hospital Center of Hope (S.T.) - all in Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital (B.D.N.) and ANRS, Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital (A.D., D.R.), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and the Department of Clinical Research, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London (S.D.L.).
• N. Engl. J. Med. 2020 Jun 18; 382 (25): 2397-2410.

BackgroundIn regions with high burdens of tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), many HIV-infected adults begin antiretroviral therapy (ART) when they are already severely immunocompromised. Mortality after ART initiation is high in these patients, and tuberculosis and invasive bacterial diseases are common causes of death.MethodsWe conducted a 48-week trial of empirical treatment for tuberculosis as compared with treatment guided by testing in HIV-infected adults who had not previously received ART and had CD4+ T-cell counts below 100 cells per cubic millimeter. Patients recruited in Ivory Coast, Uganda, Cambodia, and Vietnam were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to undergo screening (Xpert MTB/RIF test, urinary lipoarabinomannan test, and chest radiography) to determine whether treatment for tuberculosis should be started or to receive systematic empirical treatment with rifampin, isoniazid, ethambutol, and pyrazinamide daily for 2 months, followed by rifampin and isoniazid daily for 4 months. The primary end point was a composite of death from any cause or invasive bacterial disease within 24 weeks (primary analysis) or within 48 weeks after randomization.ResultsA total of 522 patients in the systematic-treatment group and 525 in the guided-treatment group were included in the analyses. At week 24, the rate of death from any cause or invasive bacterial disease (calculated as the number of first events per 100 patient-years) was 19.4 with systematic treatment and 20.3 with guided treatment (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.63 to 1.44). At week 48, the corresponding rates were 12.8 and 13.3 (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.97 [95% CI, 0.67 to 1.40]). At week 24, the probability of tuberculosis was lower with systematic treatment than with guided treatment (3.0% vs. 17.9%; adjusted hazard ratio, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.09 to 0.26), but the probability of grade 3 or 4 drug-related adverse events was higher with systematic treatment (17.4% vs. 7.2%; adjusted hazard ratio 2.57; 95% CI, 1.75 to 3.78). Serious adverse events were more common with systematic treatment.ConclusionsAmong severely immunosuppressed adults with HIV infection who had not previously received ART, systematic treatment for tuberculosis was not superior to test-guided treatment in reducing the rate of death or invasive bacterial disease over 24 or 48 weeks and was associated with more grade 3 or 4 adverse events. (Funded by the Agence Nationale de Recherches sur le Sida et les Hépatites Virales; STATIS ANRS 12290 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02057796.).Copyright © 2020 Massachusetts Medical Society.

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