A retrospective cohort study of monthly rifampicin, ofloxacin and minocycline in the management of leprosy at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, London, United Kingdom.

<h4>Introduction</h4>The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends rifampicin, dapsone and clofazimine multi-drug therapy (MDT) for the treatment of leprosy. Severe adverse effects include dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome, skin pigmentation, haemolytic anaemia, and hepatitis. At the Ho...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Priyanka Sivakumaran, Barbara de Barros, Vivianne Lopes Antonio Dias, Diana N Lockwood, Stephen L Walker
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2024-12-01
Series:PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0012699&type=printable
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846091504563519488
author Priyanka Sivakumaran
Barbara de Barros
Vivianne Lopes Antonio Dias
Diana N Lockwood
Stephen L Walker
author_facet Priyanka Sivakumaran
Barbara de Barros
Vivianne Lopes Antonio Dias
Diana N Lockwood
Stephen L Walker
author_sort Priyanka Sivakumaran
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Introduction</h4>The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends rifampicin, dapsone and clofazimine multi-drug therapy (MDT) for the treatment of leprosy. Severe adverse effects include dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome, skin pigmentation, haemolytic anaemia, and hepatitis. At the Hospital for Tropical Diseases (HTD), London, United Kingdom monthly rifampicin, ofloxacin and minocycline (mROM) is used as first line treatment for leprosy.<h4>Objectives</h4>To determine the clinical outcomes and experiences of individuals treated with mROM.<h4>Methods</h4>A retrospective study of individuals with leprosy who were prescribed mROM at HTD was conducted. Demographic and clinical data were collected on outcomes including relapses, leprosy reactions, bacterial index (BI) and adverse effects. Individuals were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire to understand their experiences of mROM.<h4>Results</h4>29 individuals were identified and 20 interviewed. 26 (89.7%) individuals completed monthly mROM. 9 (31%) had switched from WHO MDT to mROM (five of whom (55.6%) were interviewed). BI reduced significantly following mROM treatment (p = 0.04). 17 individuals (58.6%) experienced a leprosy reaction. One of the 29 (3.4%) relapsed. The relapse rate was 9.5/1000 person years. 49 reports of adverse effects were either mild or moderate. The most frequent adverse effect (14/49) reported was orange discolouration of urine. No adverse effect required hospitalisation or discontinuation of mROM. Most individuals reported that skin lesions improved by the time they had completed mROM.<h4>Conclusions</h4>In this small study in a non-endemic setting mROM was safe, effective and acceptable. mROM therapy is associated with improvement in skin lesions, decline in bacterial index and acceptable adverse effects. Larger, prospective, randomised studies are needed to determine whether relapse rates with mROM are equivalent or better than WHO MDT and to provide robust data on the seemingly better adverse effect profile of mROM.
format Article
id doaj-art-603271f54baf46b38543b6852aae0da1
institution Kabale University
issn 1935-2727
1935-2735
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
spelling doaj-art-603271f54baf46b38543b6852aae0da12025-01-10T05:32:26ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases1935-27271935-27352024-12-011812e001269910.1371/journal.pntd.0012699A retrospective cohort study of monthly rifampicin, ofloxacin and minocycline in the management of leprosy at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, London, United Kingdom.Priyanka SivakumaranBarbara de BarrosVivianne Lopes Antonio DiasDiana N LockwoodStephen L Walker<h4>Introduction</h4>The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends rifampicin, dapsone and clofazimine multi-drug therapy (MDT) for the treatment of leprosy. Severe adverse effects include dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome, skin pigmentation, haemolytic anaemia, and hepatitis. At the Hospital for Tropical Diseases (HTD), London, United Kingdom monthly rifampicin, ofloxacin and minocycline (mROM) is used as first line treatment for leprosy.<h4>Objectives</h4>To determine the clinical outcomes and experiences of individuals treated with mROM.<h4>Methods</h4>A retrospective study of individuals with leprosy who were prescribed mROM at HTD was conducted. Demographic and clinical data were collected on outcomes including relapses, leprosy reactions, bacterial index (BI) and adverse effects. Individuals were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire to understand their experiences of mROM.<h4>Results</h4>29 individuals were identified and 20 interviewed. 26 (89.7%) individuals completed monthly mROM. 9 (31%) had switched from WHO MDT to mROM (five of whom (55.6%) were interviewed). BI reduced significantly following mROM treatment (p = 0.04). 17 individuals (58.6%) experienced a leprosy reaction. One of the 29 (3.4%) relapsed. The relapse rate was 9.5/1000 person years. 49 reports of adverse effects were either mild or moderate. The most frequent adverse effect (14/49) reported was orange discolouration of urine. No adverse effect required hospitalisation or discontinuation of mROM. Most individuals reported that skin lesions improved by the time they had completed mROM.<h4>Conclusions</h4>In this small study in a non-endemic setting mROM was safe, effective and acceptable. mROM therapy is associated with improvement in skin lesions, decline in bacterial index and acceptable adverse effects. Larger, prospective, randomised studies are needed to determine whether relapse rates with mROM are equivalent or better than WHO MDT and to provide robust data on the seemingly better adverse effect profile of mROM.https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0012699&type=printable
spellingShingle Priyanka Sivakumaran
Barbara de Barros
Vivianne Lopes Antonio Dias
Diana N Lockwood
Stephen L Walker
A retrospective cohort study of monthly rifampicin, ofloxacin and minocycline in the management of leprosy at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, London, United Kingdom.
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
title A retrospective cohort study of monthly rifampicin, ofloxacin and minocycline in the management of leprosy at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, London, United Kingdom.
title_full A retrospective cohort study of monthly rifampicin, ofloxacin and minocycline in the management of leprosy at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, London, United Kingdom.
title_fullStr A retrospective cohort study of monthly rifampicin, ofloxacin and minocycline in the management of leprosy at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, London, United Kingdom.
title_full_unstemmed A retrospective cohort study of monthly rifampicin, ofloxacin and minocycline in the management of leprosy at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, London, United Kingdom.
title_short A retrospective cohort study of monthly rifampicin, ofloxacin and minocycline in the management of leprosy at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, London, United Kingdom.
title_sort retrospective cohort study of monthly rifampicin ofloxacin and minocycline in the management of leprosy at the hospital for tropical diseases london united kingdom
url https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0012699&type=printable
work_keys_str_mv AT priyankasivakumaran aretrospectivecohortstudyofmonthlyrifampicinofloxacinandminocyclineinthemanagementofleprosyatthehospitalfortropicaldiseaseslondonunitedkingdom
AT barbaradebarros aretrospectivecohortstudyofmonthlyrifampicinofloxacinandminocyclineinthemanagementofleprosyatthehospitalfortropicaldiseaseslondonunitedkingdom
AT viviannelopesantoniodias aretrospectivecohortstudyofmonthlyrifampicinofloxacinandminocyclineinthemanagementofleprosyatthehospitalfortropicaldiseaseslondonunitedkingdom
AT diananlockwood aretrospectivecohortstudyofmonthlyrifampicinofloxacinandminocyclineinthemanagementofleprosyatthehospitalfortropicaldiseaseslondonunitedkingdom
AT stephenlwalker aretrospectivecohortstudyofmonthlyrifampicinofloxacinandminocyclineinthemanagementofleprosyatthehospitalfortropicaldiseaseslondonunitedkingdom
AT priyankasivakumaran retrospectivecohortstudyofmonthlyrifampicinofloxacinandminocyclineinthemanagementofleprosyatthehospitalfortropicaldiseaseslondonunitedkingdom
AT barbaradebarros retrospectivecohortstudyofmonthlyrifampicinofloxacinandminocyclineinthemanagementofleprosyatthehospitalfortropicaldiseaseslondonunitedkingdom
AT viviannelopesantoniodias retrospectivecohortstudyofmonthlyrifampicinofloxacinandminocyclineinthemanagementofleprosyatthehospitalfortropicaldiseaseslondonunitedkingdom
AT diananlockwood retrospectivecohortstudyofmonthlyrifampicinofloxacinandminocyclineinthemanagementofleprosyatthehospitalfortropicaldiseaseslondonunitedkingdom
AT stephenlwalker retrospectivecohortstudyofmonthlyrifampicinofloxacinandminocyclineinthemanagementofleprosyatthehospitalfortropicaldiseaseslondonunitedkingdom