Culture conversion at six months in patients receiving bedaquiline- and delamanid-containing regimens for the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis

Rifampicin-resistant/multidrug-resistant (RR/MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains of M. tuberculosis (TB) are serious public health problem in Kazakhstan. In 2012 and 2013, stringent regulatory authorities approved the first new TB drugs in fifty years, bedaquiline and delamanid, offering hope for more effective and less toxic MDR-TB treatment. The endTB Observational Study is a multi-country study that enrolled patients receiving a bedaquiline- or delamanid-containing regimen for RR/MDR-TB between 01 April 2015 and 30 September 2018. In Kazakhstan, 675 patients participated in the study; all had at least 6-months or longer of follow-up after the start of treatment. The present analysis focuses on endTB Observational Study patients living in Kazakhstan who had a positive baseline sputum culture (220 patients) and initiated a bedaquiline- or delamanid-containing regimen between February 1, 2016 and March 31, 2018. Of them, 195 (89%) of patients experienced culture conversion within six months. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases.

Automated summary

Rifampicin-resistant/multidrug-resistant (RR/MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains of M. tuberculosis are a serious public health issue in Kazakhstan. The approval of new TB drugs, bedaquiline and delamanid, offers hope for more effective MDR-TB treatment. A study of patients in Kazakhstan receiving bedaquiline or delamanid-containing regimen found that 89% experienced culture conversion within six months.