Determinants of response at 2 months of treatment in a cohort of Pakistani patients with pulmonary tuberculosis

Shah, S., Khan, A., Shahzad, M., Mokhtar, J. A., Harakeh, S., Kibria, Z., Mehr, A., Bano, B., Ali, A. and Yousafzai, Y. M. (2022) Determinants of response at 2 months of treatment in a cohort of Pakistani patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Antibiotics, 11(10), 1307. (doi: 10.3390/antibiotics11101307) (PMID:36289965) (PMCID:PMC9598398)

Abstract

Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection continues to be a major global challenge. All patients with pulmonary tuberculosis are treated with a standard 6-month treatment regimen. Historical data suggest that even with shortened treatment, most patients achieve long-term remission. Risk stratification is a goal for reducing potentially toxic prolonged treatment. This study aimed to determine the factors associated with the early clearance of sputum acid-fast bacilli (AFB). A total of 297 freshly diagnosed patients with pulmonary tuberculosis were included and enrolled in this study. Information related to their ethno-demographic and anthropometric characteristics was collected. We also assessed their complete blood counts, and blood iron, folate, and vitamin B12 levels. We found that the presence of higher levels of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) in diagnostic sputum microscopy was the single most significant prognostic factor associated with early clearance of sputum AFB after 2 months of treatment. All of our patients achieved treatment success after 6 months of treatment and were disease free. Our results support the data obtained from previous studies indicating that AFB clearance at 2 months is unlikely to be a clinically useful biomarker or indicator for therapeutic stratification. Furthermore, demographic, anthropometric, and nutritional factors are not clinically useful biomarkers.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This research work was funded by the Institutional Fund Projects under grant no. IFPDP-112-22. Therefore, the authors gratefully acknowledge the technical and financial support from the Ministry of Education and King Abdulaziz University, Deanship of Scientific Research, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Yousafzai, Dr Yasar and Ali, Dr Asif
• Authors: Shah, S., Khan, A., Shahzad, M., Mokhtar, J. A., Harakeh, S., Kibria, Z., Mehr, A., Bano, B., Ali, A., and Yousafzai, Y. M.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cancer Sciences; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity
• Journal Name: Antibiotics
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2079-6382
• ISSN (Online): 2079-6382
• Published Online: 26 September 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Antibiotics 11(10): 1307
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License