Culture Conversion in Patients Treated with Bedaquiline and/or Delamanid. A Prospective Multicountry Study

Rationale: Bedaquiline and delamanid offer the possibility of more effective and less toxic treatment for multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB). With this treatment, however, some patients remain at high risk for an unfavorable treatment outcome. The endTB Observational Study is the largest multicountry cohort of patients with rifampin-resistant TB or MDR-TB treated in routine care with delamanid- and/or bedaquiline-containing regimens according to World Health Organization guidance. Objectives: We report the frequency of sputum culture conversion within 6 months of treatment initiation and the risk factors for nonconversion. Methods: We included patients with a positive baseline culture who initiated a first endTB regimen before April 2018. Two consecutive negative cultures collected 15 days or more apart constituted culture conversion. We used generalized mixed models to derive marginal predictions for the probability of culture conversion in key subgroups. Measurements and Main Results: A total of 1,109 patients initiated a multidrug treatment containing bedaquiline (63%), delamanid (27%), or both (10%). Of these, 939 (85%) experienced culture conversion within 6 months. In adjusted analyses, patients with HIV had a lower probability of conversion (0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.62–0.84) than patients without HIV (0.84; 95% CI, 0.79–0.90; P = 0.03). Patients with both cavitary disease and highly positive sputum smear had a lower probability of conversion (0.68; 95% CI, 0.57–0.79) relative to patients without either (0.89; 95% CI, 0.84–0.95; P = 0.0004). Hepatitis C infection, diabetes mellitus or glucose intolerance, and baseline resistance were not associated with conversion. Conclusions: Frequent sputum conversion in patients with rifampin-resistant TB or MDR-TB who were treated with bedaquiline and/or delamanid underscores the need for urgent expanded access to these drugs. There is a need to optimize treatment for patients with HIV and extensive disease.