Six-month therapy with aerosolized interferon-gamma for refractory multidrug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis

Area of Science:

• Pulmonology
• Infectious Diseases
• Immunotherapy

Background:

• Multidrug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis (MDR-TB) presents a significant treatment challenge.
• Refractory MDR-TB cases often fail to respond to standard antituberculous chemotherapy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the adjuvant effects of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) inhalation therapy in patients with refractory MDR-TB.
• To assess the efficacy of aerosolized IFN-gamma as an add-on treatment for persistent MDR-TB.

Main Methods:

• Six patients with refractory MDR-TB received aerosolized IFN-gamma (2 million IU) three times weekly for six months.
• Patients continued their existing antituberculous chemotherapy regimens throughout the study.
• Sputum analysis, radiological imaging, and clinical assessments were performed.

Main Results:

• Sputum smears remained persistently positive in all patients.
• Sputum cultures were transiently negative in two patients at month 4, but reverted to positive by month 6.
• Five patients demonstrated radiological improvement, including decreased cavitary lesions in three.
• One patient showed substantial clinical and radiological improvement, enabling resectional surgery.

Conclusions:

• IFN-gamma inhalation therapy may offer benefits for select refractory MDR-TB patients unresponsive to conventional treatments.
• The therapy showed potential for radiological improvement and facilitating surgical intervention.
• Further research is warranted to optimize IFN-gamma therapy for MDR-TB management.