Effectiveness and safety of bedaquiline under conditional access program for treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis in India: An interim analysis

Background India accounts for a quarter of the world's multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB); with less than 50% having successful treatment outcomes. Bedaquiline (BDQ) was approved for use under conditional access program in India in 2015. Objective We evaluate the effectiveness, safety, and tolerability of a BDQ containing regimen used under field settings in India. Method Interim analysis of a prospective cohort of MDR-TB patients on a BDQ containing regimen at six sites in the country. Results Six hundred and twenty MDR-TB patients [349 (56%) males; 554 (89%) between 18 and 50 years and 240 (39%) severely malnourished] were started on BDQ containing regimen between June 2016 and August 2017. There 354 (57%) patients had MDR-TB with additional drug resistance to fluoroquinolone (MDR FQ ); 31 (5%) with additional resistance to second-line injectable (MDR SLI ) and 101 (16%) extensively drug-resistant TB. After 6 months of treatment, culture conversion was achieved in 513 of 620 (83%) patients. The median time to culture conversion was 60 days. Higher body mass index was the only factor associated with faster culture conversion (HR 1.97; 95% CI 1.24-2.9). Around 100 patients (16.3%) experienced a ≥60-ms increase in QTc interval during the treatment. Seventy-three (12%) deaths were reported, the majority of them (56%) occurring within the first 6 months of treatment. Conclusions BDQ with a background regimen has the potential to achieve higher and faster culture conversion rates with a lower toxicity profile among DR-TB patients. Use of BDQ with additional monitoring may be safe and effective even in the field settings.