Evaluation of a pro-active strategy for managing tuberculosis-HIV co-infection in a UK tertiary care setting

Management of tuberculosis (TB)-HIV co-infection is complicated by interactions between the diseases and their therapies. We developed and evaluated a strategy to (i) treat co-infected patients in a single co-infection clinic, (ii) maximize use of first-line drugs, (iii) delay antiretroviral therapy (ART) until two months post-TB treatment except in severe immunosuppression, (iv) commence efavirenz at 600 mg daily with therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) and (v) target treatment completion. We conducted a prospective cohort review over 5.5 years in a UK tertiary referral center where 56 HIV-positive patients treated for TB were followed-up for a median 30 months. Main outcome measures were treatment completion, adverse events, immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome, immunological and virological parameters, and TDM for efavirenz. Treatment completion rates were 88% (49/56); four patients were lost to local follow-up and three (5.4%) died during treatment; no deaths were TB-related. Adverse events were common (55%), but caused no treatment interruptions. Standard doses (600 mg daily) of efavirenz with rifampicin achieved or exceeded therapeutic levels in 25/28 (89%). This study supports combined management for TB-HIV co-infected patients. Delaying ART to two months post-TB treatment did not seem to result in poor clinical outcomes in this well-resourced context. Although efavirenz 600 mg daily usually achieved satisfactory levels, TDM is recommended.