A controlled comparison of cycloserine plus ethionamide with cycloserine plus thioacetazone in patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis despite prolonged previous chemotherapy.
Angel, J.H.; Bhatia, A.L.; Devadatta, S.; Wallace Fox; Janardhanam, B.; Radhakrishna, S.; Ramakrishna, C.V.; Selkon, J.B.; Stott, H.; Velu, S.
Tubercle; 1963; 44; 215-224.
Twenty seven patients with chronic pulmonary tuberculosis who had failed to respond to two previous chemotherapeutic regimens were allocated to treatment with cycloserine plus ethionamide (14 patients), or with cycloserine plus thioacetazone (13 patients). All had isoniazid-resistant strains and all but one had streptomycin-resistant strains at the start of the study.
At the end of a year nine of 14 patients in the ethionamide series compared with three of 13 in the thioacetazone series had bacteriologically quiescent disease, one and three, respectively, had bacteriologically active disease; during the year, two patients (one in each series) deteriorated and had their chemotherapy changed and two patients (both on thioacetazone) died of tuberculosis. The difference in the proportions of unfavourable response attained statistical significance.
There was one case of peripheral neuropathy due to ethionamide. Definite toxicity to thioacetazone was not observed. One of nine patients excluded from the main analysis had had intractable vomiting due to cycloserine.
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