Single-Dose Liposomal Amphotericin B Treatment for Cryptococcal Meningitis

BACKGROUND: Cryptococcal meningitis is a leading cause of HIV-related mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. Based on phase-II data, we performed a phase-III randomized controlled non-inferiority trial to determine the efficacy of a single high-dose liposomal amphotericin B based treatment regimen. METHODS: HIV-positive adults with cryptococcal meningitis in Botswana, Malawi, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe were randomized 1:1 to induction therapy of either (i) single, high-dose liposomal amphotericin B 10mg/kg given with 14 days of flucytosine 100mg/kg/day and fluconazole 1200mg/day (AmBisome group), or (ii) the current WHO recommended treatment of 7 daily doses of amphotericin B deoxycholate (1mg/kg/day) plus flucytosine (100mg/kg/day), followed by 7 days of fluconazole 1200mg/day (control group). The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality at 10 weeks with the trial powered to show non-inferiority at a 10% margin. RESULTS: We randomized 844 participants. None were lost-to-follow-up. In intention-to-treat analysis, 10-week mortality was 24.8% (101 of 407; 95% confidence interval [CI] 20.7-29.3%) in the AmBisome group and 28.7% (117 of 407; 95% CI 24.4-33.4%) in controls. The absolute difference in mortality was -3.9%, with an upper 1-sided 95% confidence interval of 1.2%. Fungal clearance from cerebrospinal fluid was -0.40 log(10) CFU/ml/day in the AmBisome group and -0.42 log(10) CFU/ml/day in the control group. Fewer participants experienced grade 3 or 4 adverse events in the AmBisome group than the control group (50.0% vs. 62.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Single dose liposomal amphotericin B (10mg/kg) on a backbone of flucytosine and fluconazole was non-inferior to the current WHO recommended standard of care for HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis and associated with fewer adverse events. (Trial registration number: ISRCTN72509687.)