Promising clinical efficacy of streptomycin-rifampin combination for treatment of buruli ulcer (Mycobacterium ulcerans disease)

Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2007 Nov;51(11):4029-35. doi: 10.1128/AAC.00175-07. Epub 2007 May 25.

Abstract

According to recommendations of the 6th WHO Advisory Committee on Buruli ulcer, directly observed treatment with the combination of rifampin and streptomycin, administered daily for 8 weeks, was recommended to 310 patients diagnosed with Buruli ulcer in Pobè, Bénin. Among the 224 (72%) eligible patients for whom treatment was initiated, 215 (96%) were categorized as treatment successes, and 9, including 1 death and 8 losses to follow-up, were treatment failures. Of the 215 successfully treated patients, 102 (47%) were treated exclusively with antibiotics and 113 (53%) were treated with antibiotics plus surgical excision and skin grafting. The size of lesions at treatment initiation was the major factor associated with surgical intervention: 73% of patients with lesions of >15 cm in diameter underwent surgery, whereas only 17% of patients with lesions of <5 cm had surgery. No patient discontinued therapy for side effects from the antibiotic treatment. One year after stopping treatment, 208 of the 215 patients were actively retrieved to assess the long-term therapeutic results: 3 (1.44%) of the 208 retrieved patients had recurrence of Mycobacterium ulcerans disease, 2 among the 107 patients treated only with antibiotics and 1 among the 108 patients treated with antibiotics plus surgery. We conclude that the WHO-recommended streptomycin-rifampin combination is highly efficacious for treating M. ulcerans disease. Chemotherapy alone was successful in achieving cure in 47% of cases and was particularly effective against ulcers of less than 5 cm in diameter.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use
  • Buruli Ulcer / drug therapy*
  • Buruli Ulcer / pathology
  • Buruli Ulcer / surgery
  • Drug Therapy, Combination
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mycobacterium ulcerans / drug effects*
  • Rifampin / therapeutic use*
  • Streptomycin / therapeutic use*
  • Survival Analysis
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Rifampin
  • Streptomycin