Interim Outcomes and Adverse Events among Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Patients Treated with Bedaquiline in the Philippines

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the interim outcomes for drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) patients treated with bedaquiline regimen under the operational research conditions compared to DR-TB patients treated without bedaquiline in their regimen, and to describe the adverse events that occurred among patients treated with bedaquiline in the Philippines. Design: Patients who were treated with a bedaquiline-containing regimen from June 2016 to May 2017 were included in this study as the intervention group, while patients who were treated without bedaquiline regimen from January 2013 to May 2016 were included as the comparison group. The interim treatment outcomes were compared using Chi-square test. The analysis of time to culture conversion within 6 months of treatment was conducted. A Cox proportional hazard model was constructed to identify the variables associated with a favorable interim treatment outcome. The R program was used for statistical analysis. Results: On the 6th month of treatment, the culture conversion for patients treated with a bedaquiline-containing regimen was significantly higher than with the comparison group [63/75 (84.0%) vs 84/117 (71.8%), p = 0.012)]. Nearly 15% of the patients treated with bedaquiline were lost to follow-up. Frequent adverse events included vomiting, dizziness, nausea, joint pain, and abdominal pain. Conclusion: The patients who were treated with bedaquiline-containing regimen have better interim treatment outcomes than those treated without bedaquiline, but the proportion of patients who were lost to follow-up remains substantial.