Advocates release recommendations for injectable-free regimens for children under the age of 12 years.
The Desmond Tutu Tuberculosis Centre (DTTC), the Sentinel Project on Pediatric Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis and Treatment Action Group (TAG) released recommendations for injectable-free regimens for children under the age of 12 years with drug-resistant TB.
On 18 June 2018, the South African Department of Health announced that bedaquiline will now be used to replace the injectable agent in routine treatment of rifampin-resistant and multidrug-resistant TB (RR/MDR-TB). While advocates applaud this announcement, in the released statement they say: “We note with concern, however, that the lack of data available to inform bedaquiline dosing and safety in children may preclude children under the age of 12 years from accessing the benefits of all-oral RR/MDR-TB treatment in the near future. As such, we call for policies to support all-oral regimens for patients under 12 years of age in South Africa and globally.”
The recommendations can be downloaded here.