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Current management options for latent tuberculosis: a review
Received 29 August 2012
Accepted for publication 1 October 2012
Published 29 November 2012 Volume 2012:5 Pages 163—173
DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/IDR.S29180
Checked for plagiarism Yes
Review by Single anonymous peer review
Peer reviewer comments 4
Brianna L Norton, David P Holland
Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
Abstract: Tuberculosis remains the world’s second leading infectious cause of death, with nearly one-third of the global population latently infected. Treatment of latent tuberculosis infection is a mainstay of tuberculosis-control efforts in low-to medium-incidence countries. Isoniazid monotherapy has been the standard of care for decades, but its utility is impaired by poor completion rates. However, new, shorter-course regimens using rifamycins improve completion rates and are cost-saving compared with standard isoniazid monotherapy. We review the currently available therapies for latent tuberculosis infection and their toxicities and include a brief economic comparison of the different regimens.
Keywords: isoniazid, rifampin, rifapentine, tuberculin skin test, interferon-gamma release assay
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