Clinical experience with rifabutin in the treatment of mycobacterial infections

Effective new therapies are required to combat the increasing incidence of mycobacterial infections. Rifabutin has been investigated in studies conducted in various countries around the world, and in the treatment of tuberculosis rifabutin in combination regimen has been shown to be as effective as rifampicin. Rifabutin is active in approximately 30% of patients with tuberculosis resistant to standard therapies, including rifampicin and/or isoniazid. Placebo-controlled studies of rifabutin in the treatment of Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare complex (MAC) infection in AIDS patients have provided evidence for the inclusion of rifabutin in multidrug regimens. Rifabutin as a single agent is the only drug approved for the prophylaxis of MAC infection. Clinical experience indicates that rifabutin is well tolerated and that it does not reduce the tolerability of combination regimens.