Efficacy and Safety of Levofloxacin for the Treatment of MDR-TB

Summary

Multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) affects nearly 600,000 persons each year around the world. This type of tuberculosis is very difficult to treat, and many patients die from it. Drugs of the fluoroquinolone class are very important for treating MDR-TB, but the best dose of one of the most effective fluoroquinolones, levofloxacin, is not known. This application proposes a study to determine the best dose of levofloxacin to use in treating MDR-TB. 120 patients will receive their usual treatment, plus levofloxacin at one of four doses. The study will be performed in Peru and in South Africa, where MDR-TB is common.

Timeline

Start

2015-01

Primary completion

2022-03-29

Completion

2022-03-29

Outcome

Missed primary endpoint

paper There was no difference in time to culture conversion on solid or liquid media by treatment arm (stratified log-rank P = 0.282) PMID 40080768 ↗

Publications

• Phillips PPJ, Peloquin CA, Sterling TR, Kaur P, Diacon AH, Gotuzzo E, Benator D, Warren RM, Sikes D, Lecca L, Gandhi NR, Streicher EM, Dianis N, Eisenach K, Mitnick CD, Horsburgh CR Jr. Efficacy and Safety of Higher Doses of Levofloxacin for Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis: A Randomized, Placebo-controlled Phase II Clinical Trial. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2025 Jul;211(7):1277-1287. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202407-1354OC.
• Schwalb A, Cachay R, Wright A, Phillips PPJ, Kaur P, Diacon AH, Ugarte-Gil C, Mitnick CD, Sterling TR, Gotuzzo E, Horsburgh CR. Factors associated with screening failure and study withdrawal in multidrug-resistant TB. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2022 Sep 1;26(9):820-825. doi: 10.5588/ijtld.21.0729.
• van den Elsen SHJ, Sturkenboom MGG, Van't Boveneind-Vrubleuskaya N, Skrahina A, van der Werf TS, Heysell SK, Mpagama S, Migliori GB, Peloquin CA, Touw DJ, Alffenaar JC. Population Pharmacokinetic Model and Limited Sampling Strategies for Personalized Dosing of Levofloxacin in Tuberculosis Patients. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2018 Nov 26;62(12):e01092-18. doi: 10.1128/AAC.01092-18. Print 2018 Dec.
• Peloquin CA, Phillips PPJ, Mitnick CD, Eisenach K, Patientia RF, Lecca L, Gotuzzo E, Gandhi NR, Butler D, Diacon AH, Martel B, Santillan J, Hunt KR, Vargas D, von Groote-Bidlingmaier F, Seas C, Dianis N, Moreno-Martinez A, Kaur P, Horsburgh CR Jr. Increased Doses Lead to Higher Drug Exposures of Levofloxacin for Treatment of Tuberculosis. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2018 Sep 24;62(10):e00770-18. doi: 10.1128/AAC.00770-18. Print 2018 Oct.
• Bouton TC, Phillips PPJ, Mitnick CD, Peloquin CA, Eisenach K, Patientia RF, Lecca L, Gotuzzo E, Gandhi NR, Butler D, Diacon AH, Martel B, Santillan J, Hunt KR, Vargas D, von Groote-Bidlingmaier F, Seas C, Dianis N, Moreno-Martinez A, Horsburgh CR Jr. An optimized background regimen design to evaluate the contribution of levofloxacin to multidrug-resistant tuberculosis treatment regimens: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2017 Nov 25;18(1):563. doi: 10.1186/s13063-017-2292-x.

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Indications