Objective: The intestinal parasite Cryptosporidium is a common cause of chronic diarrhoea in AIDS patients and is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality. No effective treatment is currently available for this condition. Here we aim to determine the safety, tolerance, and clinical effect of letrazuril in the treatment of AIDS-related Cryptosporidiosis.
Design: A prospective, open-label study of letrazuril was performed.
Setting: The study was conducted at the Immune Deficiency Treatment Centre (IDTC) of Montreal General Hospital, a tertiary-care centre with inpatient and outpatient facilities.
Participants: All HIV-positive patients presenting to the IDTC between November 1991 and January 1993 who had symptomatic intestinal Cryptosporidiosis were enrolled in this protocol. Sixteen participants entered the study and 15 were available for evaluation, having completed at least 2 weeks on the study medication.
Interventions: Patients received letrazuril daily in escalating doses of 50 to 100 mg orally for 6 weeks. Clinical and laboratory evaluations were performed weekly during the treatment phase, with a follow-up evaluation 4 weeks after the end of this phase, for a total study period of 10 weeks.
Main outcome measures: Response to letrazuril was assessed by eradication of Cryptosporidial oocysts from the stool and symptomatic improvement in diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Haematological, biochemical, and electrocardiographic parameters were also studied to evaluate potential toxicities of the treatment.
Results: Fourteen evaluable patients had baseline CD4 lymphocyte counts ranging from 3 to 99 x 10(6)/l cells (mean, 30 x 10(6)/l cells). (The fifteenth evaluable patient had a CD4 count 235 x 10(6)/l.) Of these 14 patients, five showed a major response (symptomatic improvement and eradication of Cryptosporidial oocysts from the stool), two had a minor response (symptomatic improvement with persistence of oocysts in stool), and seven had no response to therapy with letrazuril. Seven patients developed a transient drug-related rash.
Conclusion: Fifty per cent of the AIDS patients in this study experienced an improvement in their Cryptosporidial disease while receiving letrazuril. No serious dose-related toxicities were observed. Larger Phase II trials are needed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of letrazuril in AIDS-associated intestinal Cryptosporidiosis.