Early efficacy of individual regimens containing bedaquiline in patients with drug resistant tuberculosis

Objective: To evaluate early efficacy of sputum conversion within 6 months of individual regimens containing bedaquiline in patients with drug resistant tuberculosis. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study among patients with drug resistant tuberculosis who were receiving individual regimens containing bedaquiline. The primary outcome was sputum conversion of both smear and culture within 6 months of treatment. We used medical records of drug resistant tuberculosis patients from January 2020 to December 2021. The study was conducted at Dr. Soetomo Hospital, Indonesia from August to October 2022. Results: In this study, 44 eligible drug resistant tuberculosis patients were initiated on regimens containing bedaquiline. There were 52.3% males and the median age was 45.5 years. The rates of previous treatment (70.5%) and lung cavity (36.4%) were high. The most common companion drugs included clofazimine, cycloserine, levofloxacin, and linezolid. Sputum smear and culture conversion was seen in 79.4% and 82.1% at the 2nd month, respectively. More than 97% patients had smear and culture conversion at the end of 6 months. Conclusions: Among drug resistant tuberculosis patients, individual regimens containing bedaquiline were associated with high rates of smear and culture conversion at the end of 6 months. Early efficacy of regimens containing bedaquiline can be used to predict cure rate at the end of treatment.