Active clinical trials for "Tuberculosis"

Background: Non-Steroid Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) reduce pain and inflammation by inhibiting cyclooxygenase, an enzyme in the pathway for formation of prostaglandins and thromboxane. Prior studies have proven the role of ibuprofen (an NSAID) in modulating lung injury and decreasing pulmonary damage in cystic fibrosis. While there has been an intense effort by the scientific community to define the best treatment strategies for tuberculosis immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (TB-IRIS), to our knowledge there is no available study evaluating preventive strategies using anti-inflammatory agents for TB-IRIS, a highly morbid complication in HIV-infected TB patients initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART). Design and Methods: We propose to conduct a single center double-blind placebo-controlled randomized trial to investigate the efficacy of daily self-administered Meloxicam (a NSAID) versus placebo for prevention of Tuberculosis associated Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome (TB-IRIS). A total of 150 HIV-infected adults who are treated for Tuberculosis for at least 2 weeks and about to initiate HIV treatment at Brewelskloof Hospital, Worcester, and Tygerberg Teaching Hospital, Cape Town, will be randomized to one of the following treatments: Meloxicam 7.5 mg tablet once-a-day, the experimental arm, versus Placebo tablet once-a-day, the control arm, for 8 weeks. All patients will be followed up for 12 months. Primary efficacy outcome: The decrease of the incidence of paradoxical TB IRIS by at least 20%; Primary safety outcome: The proportion of patients who temporarily or permanently discontinue Meloxicam due to any adverse event (e.g. dyspepsia or gastro-intestinal upset). Secondary outcomes are: 1) the proportion of patients in each arm with the following indicators of TB-IRIS severity/quality of life (QOL) (degree of pain or discomfort >III, presence of local or disseminated suppuration/abscess of any site, unscheduled clinic visits, hospitalizations, missed more than a day at work, etc; 2) The incidence of other types of IRIS (e.g. Kaposi Sarcoma or cryptococcal meningitis). This study will provide important and novel data on the feasibility and efficacy of using a cheap, widely available NSAID used in both developed and developing countries, as a preventive intervention for TB-IRIS that could be quickly put into practice if proven to be effective

Hong Kong is a region of intermediate TB burden, and the reactivation of latent TB in IMID patients treated with anti-TNF can be a serious problem. This study aims to investigate the role of IGRA in screening for latent TB in IBD patients and control subjects. In part II of the study, patients of other immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID) will also be included to investigate the role of serial interferon-gamma release assays (IGRA) for the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) infection in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID) treated with biologics

The purpose of this study is to determine the level of agreement between QuantiFeron -TB Gold test (QFT-G)and Tubeculin skin test (TST)for screening of latent tuberculosis in patients suffering from psoriasis.

Tuberculosis is a worldwide common infectious disease and effective first line anti-tuberculosis (TB) drugs were available such as isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol, and pyrazinamide. However, anti-TB drugs may induce hepatic injury resulting in discontinuation of anti-TB drugs or changing anti-Tb drug regimen. Silymarin has been widely studied for the effect on hepatitis and it has been used in hepatology. Therefore, the investigators hypothesized that prophylactic administration of silymarin with anti-TB drugs may decrease the incidence and severity of hepatotoxicity induced by anti-TB drugs.

Background: The TB and HIV epidemics are closely linked in developing countries, where 450,000 children die from HIV annually. TB is a major cause of death in HIV-infected children and is reversing gains made in child survival. The traditional tuberculin skin test (TST) has limited diagnostic accuracy for detecting TB infection. Adult studies suggest that new blood-based diagnostic TB testing offers a quicker, more accurate way to diagnose TB infection. Such diagnostic testing may directly guide clinical management and preventive strategies in immune-suppressed HIV-infected children, who are at high risk of becoming TB diseased following infection. Data regarding the usefulness of these tests in children is currently limited. Objective(s) and Hypothesis(es): The investigators hypothesize that blood-based TB diagnostic testing can accurately identify children with TB infection. In a community with high rates of TB and HIV infection, the following specific aims will be investigated in HIV-infected and uninfected children: assess the agreement between the TST and blood-based diagnostic testing, compare the performance of the TST and blood-based diagnostic testing to a standardized history of TB exposure, measure the impact of age, nutritional and immune status on children's response to blood-based testing, describe factors that might modify children's response to testing over time, and 5) examine the effect of environmental exposures and previous vaccination on the TST, blood-based testing and other measures of immune responses to TB. Potential Impact: The benefits of an accurate, rapid diagnostic test of TB infection in children include 1) timely institution of treatment for TB infection to prevent severe disease and mortality, and 2) preclusion of over diagnosis and treatment. Treatment of childhood TB infection also prevents future contagious adult disease, thus decreasing community transmission. Blood-based diagnostic testing may also be able to identify children that are more likely to become ill following TB infection. Therefore, blood-based diagnostic testing has great potential to improve TB control and the health of HIV-infected and uninfected children, their households and communities.

Many studies have shown a high non-attendance rate in hospital outpatient clinics. The investigators have found a non-attendance rate of 25% in their asthma clinics and would like to investigate whether a reminder phone call will improve attendance rates. Patients will be randomised into two groups; one group will receive a reminder phone call one week prior to their hospital consultation and the other group will be managed in the standard manner (i.e. no reminder of any sort). The phone calls will be carried out on a Friday afternoon by a respiratory nurse specialist and a research officer for two asthma clinics based on a Wednesday morning and a Thursday afternoon.

Background: The disease burden of tuberculosis (TB), second only to HIV/AIDS among infectious diseases, is a major public health problem in developing countries. Accumulating evidence suggests that iron status is a primary determinant of TB progression. Anaemia is prevalent in patients with TB, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, and associated with increased mortality. Anaemia in TB may be due to inflammation, dietary iron deficiency, or both, and distinguishing among these aetiologies is difficult. Iron supplementation is commonly used to treat anaemia in TB patients, but may be unnecessary if inflammation is the cause. Body iron sequestered by TB inflammation can be mobilized during treatment and used to correct the anaemia. Moreover, supplemental iron may be retained within macrophages, potentially increasing susceptibility to TB and leading to a poorer clinical outcome. Thus, better understanding of iron metabolism during TB and the aetiology of TB-related anaemia would clarify the potential role of iron in pathogenesis and optimal management of the disease. The investigators hypothesize that: a) TB will increase circulating hepcidin and thereby impair dietary iron absorption and systemic utilization of iron, resulting in iron sequestration and anaemia; b) TB treatment and resolution of inflammation over 6 months will decrease circulating hepcidin, correcting these impairments and improving iron status and hemoglobin; c) the majority of iron utilized to replenish hemoglobin during recovery from TB will come from mobilization of sequestered iron stores rather than from iron absorption. Objectives: Use iron stable isotopes to characterize iron balance over six months of TB treatment, and specifically to: a) quantify oral and intravenous iron incorporation (oral absorption and systemic iron utilization) at three time points during TB treatment (acute disease, after the intensive treatment phase and at completion of the continuation treatment phase); and b) determine the effect of treatment on iron mobilization from stores to replenish hemoglobin. Methods/Subjects: Using a triple stable-isotope technique, iron absorption from labelled test meals (57Fe) and systemic iron utilization after labelled intravenous doses (54Fe, 58Fe) will be determined in 18 Tanzanian subjects with newly diagnosed pulmonary TB. The subjects will be studied at three time points (i) the day after TB diagnosis while infected, (ii) after 8 weeks of intensive phase treatment, and (iii) after another 16 weeks of continuation phase treatment. Iron status, hemoglobin, hepcidin and inflammation indexes will be measured at each time point. Isotope enrichment during the two treatment phases will be measured to estimate the relative rates of iron absorption and mobilization from stores during the intensive and continuation phases to determine the relative contributions of iron absorption and iron mobilization from stores during TB treatment and recovery. Outcome: These studies will provide important new insights into the aetiology of anaemia and iron metabolism in TB patients. The results will provide essential data for evidence-based recommendations on the timing, administration route and efficacy of iron therapy in patients with TB, making possible, a safer and more effective treatment of anaemia in TB while decreasing morbidity and mortality from the disease.

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB), defined as simultaneous resistance to isoniazid and rifampin, has been declared a global emergency. Treatment outcomes are poor, driven by toxicity and limited efficacy of the 2nd-line anti-TB drugs. Although there is evidence that both anti-TB activity and most of the toxicity of the key drugs are related to drug exposure, the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) relationships in patients with MDR-TB are poorly characterized. Moreover potential synergy of drug combinations has not been identified in the context of MDR-TB, dosing has not taken into account the concentrations needed to suppress resistance, and the role of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) in dosing is poorly studied. There are therefore opportunities to optimize drug doses and combinations to improve efficacy, and reduce toxicity. Based on this observational study of patients on standard treatment for MDR-TB, our proposal builds on novel methodologies we have developed, largely for drug sensitive TB: The application of computational analytical techniques to tease out the individual contributions of anti-TB drugs used in combination The development of a treatment response biomarker model based on time-to-positivity in liquid culture of serial sputum samples. The in vitro determination of PK targets for anti-TB activity and the suppression of resistance using the hollow fiber models of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) (HFM-TB). Thus the research will enhance our understanding of current modalities of TB treatment, while contributing research approaches for future regimen optimization. This protocol describes the clinical research component (points 1&2). Aim 1: To characterize the effects of 2nd-line drug exposures on treatment response in MDR-TB patients. The 2nd-line drugs to be examined are those comprising the standardized regimen used in South Africa: kanamycin, pyrazinamide, moxifloxacin, ethionamide and terizidone. Hypothesis: Amongst patients on standard MDR-TB treatment, variation in drug exposure has a quantifiable impact on the rates at which viable Mtb are cleared from the sputum. Aim 2: To identify drug exposures associated with the risk of treatment-related toxicities in patients on a standard 2nd-line regimen for MDR-TB. Hypothesis: The risks of specific toxicities associated with kanamycin, pyrazinamide, moxifloxacin, ethionamide and terizidone are linked to drug concentrations.

The aim of this study is to develop and follow a cohort of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected adults who are starting HIV drugs at health facilities in Kenya. Blood and urine samples will be collected from all participants in order to establish a sample bank of samples in order to further the understanding of the levels of inflammatory biomarkers and coagulation biomarkers in African patients and the effect of taking HIV drugs on these biomarkers. This study will enroll and follow 685 men and women who are starting HIV drugs and collect blood and urine specimens from them at 4 study visits. These samples will be frozen and stored for future testing related to inflammatory and coagulation biomarkers.

Drug resistant TB is increasing and in order to enchance the efficacy of the current drugs, individualized therapy using plasma drug concentrations and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination may be of importance. This concept is defined as therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM). In this pilot study our hypothesis is that the ratio between MIC and drug concentration data is correlated to the bacterial load measured as time to positive liquid culture (TTP). In two sites in Sweden (Linköping and Karolinska Hospital Solna, Stockholm), 25 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis will be recruited. MIC-determination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis will be performed in BACTEC 960 MGIT and drug concentration will be determined at 2, 4 and 12 weeks after treatment initiation using LC-MS/MS methodology. Sputum cultures will be obtained at 0, 2 days, 7 days, 2 weeks, 4 weeks and 8 weeks and TTP will be measured in duplicate samples. Clinical follow up according to WHO criteria will be performed 1 year after completion of treatment.