Tuberculous Pericarditis clinical trials

A Trial of Adjunctive Prednisolone and Mycobacterium w Immunotherapy in Tuberculous Pericarditis

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection puts people at risk of opportunistic infections, such as tuberculosis. In Africa, the HIV epidemic has resulted in an increase in the number of cases of tuberculosis affecting various parts of the body, including the membrane surrounding the heart (i.e., pericardium). Pericardial tuberculosis is a serious form of tuberculosis that results in the death or disability of 1 in 2 affected people despite the use of antituberculosis medication. It has been suggested that the addition of corticosteroids to the antituberculosis medication could result in the reduction of the number of deaths caused by the disease, but this proposal remains to be confirmed in appropriately designed clinical trials. Similarly, vaccination with the Mycobacterium w injection is also proposed as a possible way of reducing the damage caused by the tuberculosis infection of the heart. The investigators are proposing to conduct a clinical trial in which people who are on antituberculosis treatment for pericardial tuberculosis will be randomly allocated to receive either prednisolone or a matching placebo tablet, or Mycobacterium w injection or placebo injection. The number of people who die or who develop hardening of the pericardium with compression of the heart (called pericardial constriction) or who need emergency evacuation of the pericardial fluid from pericardial sac for severe compression (called tamponade) will be compared in each group to determine whether the use of corticosteroids or Mycobacterium w injection is safe and results in reduction in the death rate. If corticosteroids and Mycobacterium w are shown to safely reduce the death rate, then they will be recommended for use in all patients with tuberculosis of the pericardium in the future.