Emerging treatments

Isoniazid/rifapentine (for latent TB infection)

A 1-month regimen of daily isoniazid plus rifapentine has been evaluated in a randomized, open-label, phase 3 trial and found to be noninferior to 9 months of isoniazid alone for preventing TB in patients with HIV who were living in areas of high TB prevalence or who had evidence of latent TB infection (LTBI).[117] US guidelines for the prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections in adults and adolescents with HIV include the 1-month regimen as an alternative option for treatment of LTBI in people with HIV.[88] However, it is not currently recommended in the National Tuberculosis Controllers Association and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.[95]

Rifapentine and moxifloxacin (4-month regimen)

An international, randomized, controlled, open-label phase 3 noninferiority clinical trial (study 31/A5349) found that a 4-month daily treatment regimen containing high-dose (optimized) rifapentine with moxifloxacin is as effective as the standard daily 6-month regimen in the treatment of drug-susceptible pulmonary TB.[118] The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization both now recommend the 4-month regimen (8 weeks of daily treatment with rifapentine, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and moxifloxacin, followed by 9 weeks of daily treatment with rifapentine, isoniazid, and moxifloxacin) as a treatment option for patients aged ≥12 years with drug-susceptible pulmonary tuberculosis.[119][120]​ Guidelines for the prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections in those with HIV also recommend this regimen as an alternative option only for patients with pulmonary TB receiving an efavirenz-based antiretroviral therapy regimen.[88]​ This regimen is not currently recommended for most types of EPTB but could be an acceptable option for patients with EPTB that is likely to be paucibacillary, does not pose a substantial risk for death or disability, and does not require prolonged treatment (i.e., pleural or lymph node TB).[119][120]​ Additional studies are recommended for patients with EPTB.[119][120]

Bedaquiline plus pretomanid and linezolid (BPaL)

Pretomanid is approved in the US for the treatment of extensively-drug resistant (XDR), treatment-intolerant, or nonresponsive multidrug-resistant (MDR) pulmonary TB, when used in combination with bedaquiline and linezolid (the BPaL regimen).[121]​ The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends that BPaL may be used in the treatment of adults with pulmonary XDR or pre-XDR (resistant to isoniazid, rifampin, and at least one fluoroquinolone or injectable medication [i.e., amikacin, kanamycin, capreomycin]) or treatment-intolerant/nonresponsive MDR TB when a safe and effective treatment regimen cannot otherwise be provided.[122] The World Health Organization (WHO) also recommends BPaL for patients with MDR-TB and BPaL with moxifloxacin (BPaLM) for those who do not have documented resistance to fluoroquinolones.[108]​ The WHO recommends the use of this 6-month regimen for adults and adolescents ages 14 and over with confirmed pulmonary TB and all forms of extrapulmonary TB (except for TB involving the CNS, osteoarticular and disseminated [miliary] TB), regardless of HIV status, who have less than 1 month exposure to bedaquiline, linezolid, pretomanid, or delamanid.[108] Guidelines for the prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections in those with HIV also now recommend BPaLM as the preferred option for rifampin-resistant pulmonary TB in people with HIV.[68]​ Some TB experts in the US are using BPaL and BPaLM for less severe forms of extrapulmonary TB (e.g., cervical lymphadenitis, pleural TB); however, pretomanid is not currently approved for treatment of extrapulmonary TB in the US.

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