This is important as it demonstrates that QuantiFERON can track the efficacy of TB therapy when Rifampicin is used.
If Rifampicin is used in a short course therapy you have several potential benefits;
- short course is preferred over longer course
- Rifampicin is less toxic than INH
- Quantiferon can be used to check that TB infection has been cleared
There is also a trial underway testing rifapentine with INH
The implication, according to Horsburgh's team, is that shorter courses of therapy would encourage more patients to comply. They point out, though, that the effectiveness of the four-month rifampin therapy has not yet been tested in large clinical trials.
An ongoing clinical trial is testing the effectiveness of a three-month course of isoniazid plus another drug, rifapentine.
"I hope that new regimens of three months...or less will be shown to be effective and will replace the current regimens," Horsburgh said.
