Treatment success rate and time to culture conversion under a prospective BPaL cohort study
Abstract
SUMMARY BACKGROUND In July 2022, Indonesia implemented the 6-month BPaL (bedaquiline, pretomanid, linezolid) regimen under operational research (OR) for selected drug-resistant tuberculosis patients. The study aimed to assess treatment success rate (TSR) and time to sputum culture conversion (TSCC). METHODS A prospective cohort study in fifteen sites between July 2022 and March 2023 enrolled patients with rifampicin-resistant/multidrug-resistant TB with additional fluoroquinolone resistance or intolerance/failures of previous second-line TB treatment. TSR was descriptively analysed, and Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional-hazards analyses were used to evaluate TSCC. RESULTS A total of 87 patients were enrolled, 3 were withdrawn, and 84 completed treatment and had outcomes; 82 (97.6%) patients had successful treatment, 1 (1.2%) died, and 1 (1.2%) had failure. Overall, 61 (72.6%) patients had positive cultures at baseline, and favourable outcomes were included in the TSCC analysis; all 61 (100%) converted within the first 3 months (median 32 days of treatment, IQR 30.0–56.0). None of the six variables were statistically associated with conversion time. CONCLUSION The Indonesian BPaL OR showed a highly promising TSR of 97.6%, with 100% sputum conversion within 3 months. The lack of observed statistical differences in the TSCC across variables shows that the BPaL treatment will be equally effective in all patient groups.
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a cohort study, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence. Reported size: 87 participants or records.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Improving sleep quality leads to better mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
- Tocilizumab in patients with severe COVID-19: a retrospective cohort study
- A new aging measure captures morbidity and mortality risk across diverse subpopulations from NHANES IV: A cohort study
- Fruit, vegetable, and legume intake, and cardiovascular disease and deaths in 18 countries (PURE): a prospective cohort study
- Are noise and air pollution related to the incidence of dementia? A cohort study in London, England
- Long COVID symptoms and duration in SARS-CoV-2 positive children — a nationwide cohort study
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.