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Chinese Journal of Antituberculosis ›› 2026, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (10): 1506-1514.doi: 10.19982/j.issn.1000-6621.20260361

• Original Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Efficacy and safety of 6-month short-course regimen B-Pa-L/M versus 18-month long-course regimen for treating rifampicin-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis

Huang Pengfei1, Xiao Yu1, Peng Yi2, Xiong Yanjun1, Guo Shanshan2, Nadila Abulizi2, Malipati Aierkenjiang2, Wang Hua1(), Rukeyamu Abudushalamu2()   

  1. 1 Department of Tuberculosis, Anhui Chest Hospital, Hefei 230000, China
    2 First Department of Tuberculosis, The Sixth People’s Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Urumqi 830063, China
  • Received:2026-06-23 Online:2026-10-10 Published:2026-09-30
  • Contact: Wang Hua,Email:1726553540@qq.com;Rukeyamu Abudushalamu,Email:969158537@qq.com
  • Supported by:
    Anhui Provincial Health Research Project(AHWJ2024Aa30419)

Abstract:

Objective: To evaluate clinical effectiveness and safety of 6-month B-Pa-L/M short-course regimen compared with 18-month long-course all-oral regimen containing bedaquiline (Bdq) on patients with rifampicin-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis (RR-PTB), to provide real-world evidence for the application of 6B-Pa-L/M short-course regimen. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted, enrolling 142 patients with RR-PTB from Anhui Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Among them, 66 received 6B-Pa-L/M short-course regimen (B-Pa-L/M group), and 76 received 18-month all-oral long-course regimen containing Bdq (long-course group). The efficacy and safety of the two regimens was assessed by sputum culture conversion rate, comprehensive clinical effectiveness, and adverse drug reactions during treatment. Results: The treatment success rate of B-Pa-L/M group (96.97%, 64/66) was significantly higher than that of the long-course group (82.89%, 63/76; χ2=7.407, P=0.006). Among the 92 patients with positive baseline sputum cultures, the sputum conversion rates of B-Pa-L/M group at 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks were significantly higher than those of the long-course group (4 weeks: 59.09% (26/44) vs. 27.08% (13/48), χ2=9.630, P=0.002; 8 weeks: 84.09% (37/44) vs. 43.75% (21/48), χ2=16.035, P<0.001; 12 weeks: 93.18% (41/44) vs. 70.83% (34/48), χ2=7.611, P=0.006; 16 weeks: 95.45% (42/44) vs. 79.17% (38/48), χ2=5.370, P=0.020). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the median time to sputum culture conversion of B-Pa-L/M group (4 (4, 8) weeks) was significantly shorter than that of the long-course group (12 (4, 16) weeks; log-rank χ2=12.936, P<0.001). In terms of safety, the overall incidence of adverse reactions, gastrointestinal adverse reactions, and psychiatric symptoms of B-Pa-L/M group (specifically 45.45% (30/66), 7.58% (5/66), and 0 (0/66), respectively) were significantly lower than those of long-course group (specifically 68.42% (52/76), 21.05% (16/76), and 14.47% (11/76), respectively), all differences were statistically significant (χ2=7.636, P=0.006; χ2=5.091, P=0.024; Fisher’s exact test, P=0.001). However, compared with that in the long-term group, the difference in the incidence of adverse events rated as grade 3 or higher (6.06% (4/66) vs. 10.53% (8/76)) was not statistically significant (χ2=0.905, P=0.341). Conclusion: The B-Pa-L/M short-course regimen achieves faster sputum culture conversion in the treatment of RR-PTB. The treatment success rate is higher than that of the long-course all-oral regimen containing Bdq, and the regimen demonstrated a favorable safety profile.

Key words: Tuberculosis, pulmonary, Drug resistance, Comparative study, Program evaluation, Pretomanid, Bedaquiline

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