Evidence Hub

Pharmacokinetics and Safety of Levofloxacin for Treatment of Rifampicin-Resistant Tuberculosis During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period: Results from IMPAACT P1026s

Jennifer A. Hughes, Mauricio Pinilla, Kristina M. Brooks, Ahizechukwu Chigoziem Eke, Alice Marie Stek, Brookie M. Best, Mark H. Mirochnick, Renee Browning et al.

Clinical Pharmacokinetics, 2025

11 participants · 2 citations

Abstract

Treatment of rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (RR-TB) often includes fluoroquinolones, but data on long-term exposure during and after pregnancy are limited. We examined the pharmacokinetics and safety of levofloxacin in an observational cohort of pregnant and postpartum women receiving treatment for RR-TB. Participants were enrolled in their second or third trimester and underwent intensive pharmacokinetic sampling to quantify levofloxacin plasma concentrations at 20–26 weeks’ and 30–38 weeks’ gestation and at 2–8 weeks postpartum. The levofloxacin plasma concentration target was 7 µg/mL. Pharmacokinetic parameters over 12 and 24 h were described using non-compartmental analysis and within-participant comparison during pregnancy versus postpartum. Adverse events were extracted from medical records. Infants were enrolled in utero and followed on study for 4–6 months after birth. A total of 11 pregnant women, with a median age of 31 years, received RR-TB treatment including levofloxacin; 6 (55%) were living with HIV. In the second trimester, third trimester, and postpartum, median maximum plasma drug concentration values were 10.3, 10.6, and 10.6 µg/mL, and area under the concentration time curve over 12 h (AUC 0–12 ) were 69.0, 77.6, and 80.2 µg·h/mL, respectively. Compared with postpartum, median AUCs were lower and clearance was higher in the second but not the third trimester. Eight (72%) women and seven (64%) infants experienced severe or life-threatening adverse events…

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: 11 participants or records.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

Read the paper

Related studies

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.

Open this study Sign up free