Clinical Outcomes among Patients with Drug-resistant Tuberculosis receiving Bedaquiline or Delamanid Containing Regimens

Abstract

Abstract Background Bedaquiline and delamanid are newly available drugs for treating multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB); however, there is limited data guiding their use and no comparison studies. Methods We conducted a prospective observational study among patients with MDR TB in Georgia receiving a bedaquiline or delamanid-based treatment regimen. Monthly sputum cultures, minimal inhibitory concentration testing, and adverse event monitoring were performed. Primary outcomes were culture conversion rates and clinical outcomes. Targeted maximum likelihood estimation (TMLE) and superlearning were utilized to produce a covariate-adjusted proportion of outcomes for each regimen. Results Among 156 patients with MDR TB, 100 were enrolled and 95 were receiving a bedaquiline (n=64) or delamanid (n=31) based regimen. Most were male (82%) and the median age was 38 years. Rates of previous treatment (56%) and cavitary disease (61%) were high. The most common companion drugs included linezolid, clofazimine, cycloserine and a fluoroquinolone. Median effective drugs received among patients on bedaquiline (4, IQR 4-4) and delamanid (4, IQR 3.5-5) based regimens were similar. Rates of acquired drug resistance were significantly higher among patients receiving delamanid versus bedaquiline (36% vs. 10%, p <0.01). Adjusted rates of sputum culture conversion at two months (67 vs. 47%, p=0.10) and six months (95 vs. 74%, p<0.01) and favorable clinical outcomes (96 vs. 72%, p<0.01) were higher among patients receiving bedaquiline versus delamanid. Conclusions Among patients with MDR TB, bedaquiline-based regimens were associated with higher rates of sputum culture conversion and favorable outcomes and a lower rate of acquired drug resistance versus delamanid-based regimens.