Rifamycin drugs as alternatives to standard isoniazid treatment to prevent active tuberculosis (TB) in HIV-negative people at risk of developing active TB.

Jawahar, M.S.; Swaminathan, S.

Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health; 2014; 2; 37-38.

Abstract: In preventing active TB in patients with LTBI with shorter durations of treatment all the regimens included in this review seem to achieve this goal. Most were from the developed countries. In developing countries with high risk of reinfection, the duration of protection offered by a single course of chemoprophylaxis is unknown. In settings where exclusion of active TB can be problematic, TB chemoprophylaxis (especially with rifampicin-containing regimens) needs to be used with great caution.

Research is urgently required into understanding the pathogenesis of latent TB disease, biomarkers to predict progression, improved diagnostics for LTBI and effective treatment regimens for latent infection with drug resistant TB. Cost-effectiveness and implementation research will be required to determine the best strategies to scale-up LTBI treatment at a population level.

Keywords: Latent-tuberculosis; Chemoprophylaxis; Health policy

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