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Immediate or high-dose antituberculosis therapy for HIV-related sepsis in Tanzania and Uganda (ATLAS): a phase 3, open-label, randomised, controlled, 2 × 2 factorial, superiority trial

Heysell SK, Mpagama SG, Nuwagira E, Said B, Conaway M, Null M, Thomas TA, Boulware DR et al.

The Lancet. Infectious diseases, 2026

395 participants · 2 citations

Abstract

Background: People living with HIV and hospitalised with sepsis in Africa are at risk of death due to tuberculosis but diagnostics for tuberculosis might be delayed or inaccessible for people presenting for critical care. We aimed to compare the effects of immediate empirical and high-dose antituberculosis therapy on 28-day mortality in adult people living with HIV with sepsis in east Africa.

Methods: ATLAS was a phase 3, open-label, randomised, controlled, 2 × 2 factorial, superiority trial conducted at four hospitals in Tanzania and Uganda. Participants were aged 18 years or older, living with HIV, and had been admitted to hospital with sepsis with two or more modified quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score criteria. Exclusion criteria were active tuberculosis or receipt of antituberculosis therapy within 6 months of hospitalisation, pregnancy or lactation, allergies to antituberculosis therapy, another investigational drug within the past month, chronic liver disease, heavy alcohol use, positive serum cryptococcal antigen, or anticipated significant drug-drug interaction with rifampicin. A computer-generated permuted-block algorithm with allocation concealment and random block sizes of four and eight randomly assigned participants (1:1) to receive either immediate or diagnosis-dependent antituberculosis therapy, and (1:1) to receive either high-dose or conventional WHO-recommended weight-based dose antituberculosis therapy. Allocation was stratified by country…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design. Reported size: 395 participants or records.

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