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Evidence summaries

Intermittent Dosing with Drugs for Tuberculosis

Intermittent dosing of drugs three times a week is probably not as effective as daily dosing in the treatment of tuberculosis in adults. Level of evidence: "C"

One trial involving 399 patients was included in a Cochrane review [Abstract] 1. The trial compared treatment three times per week with daily treatment for six months. There was no difference in cure rate (198 out of 199 in the intermittent group compared with all 200 in the daily group), but 5 patients relapsed in the group receiving intermittent therapy compared to one in the group receiving the daily regimen.

Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by sparse data and study limitations.

    References

    • Mwandumba HC, Squire SB. Fully intermittent dosing with drugs for treating tuberculosis in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2001;(4):CD000970 [Last assessed as up-to-date: 5 September 2005]. [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords