News 2024

Researchers at the Research Center Borstel, Leibniz Lung Center, have demonstrated the effectiveness and safety of self-administered outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (sOPAT) for tuberculosis (TB) patients, particularly those with drug-resistant strains. They conducted a retrospective analysis of patients who were treated for drug-resistant tuberculosis at the Research Center Borstel and continued their treatment with intravenous medication at home in an sOPAT program. The findings were recently published in Springer Nature’s DRUGS:

The study followed 89 patients with multidrug-resistant (MDR) and pre-extensively drug-resistant (pre-XDR) TB over a six-year period. Most feared complications of at-home intravenous therapy are infections or thrombosis of the indwelling catheter. They can lead to sepsis and require surgical removal of the catheter. However, only 8 patients suffered from these severe complications in the study period, with an overall complication rate of just 0.3 per 1,000 treatment days. None of these complications was fatal.

Anika Rauch, lead author of the study, emphasized the patient benefits: “This study shows that with the right training and infrastructure, self-administered therapy empowers patients to manage their treatment safely, reducing the need for prolonged hospital stays while maintaining high standards of care.”

The study also highlighted that adverse drug events were the most common reason for treatment discontinuation (13.5%), rather than complications from the intravenous port systems.

Niklas Köhler, the study’s co-lead author, remarked: “The WHO short course regimens have revolutionized TB treatment and allow an all-tablet-based regimen even in multi-drug-resistant TB. Yet, the most resistant, i.e. extensively drug-resistant TB often requires treatment with meropenem and/or amikacin. sOPAT will hence remain an important cornerstone in the care of drug-resistant TB within the DZIF ClinTB infrastructure!”

Reference:

Rauch A*, Köhler N*, Brehm TT, Zielinski N, Stoycheva K, Maier C, Böttcher L, Friesen I 5, Schaub D, Reimann M, Schmiedel S, Lange C*, Kalsdorf B*. Long-term self-administered outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy in the treatment of tuberculosis. Drugs 2024 (in press). DOI: 10.1007/s40265-024-02122-4. *contributed equally

Contact:

Niklas Köhler
FG Klinische Infektiologie und Klinisches Studienzentrum
Forschungszentrum Borstel, Leibniz Lungenzentrum
Parkallee 35
23845 Borstel
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