Treatment of chronic drug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis with rifampin and ethambutol.

Twenty patients with chronic pulmonary tuberculosis completed eight months of rifampin-ethambutol treatment. Half the patients received daily 600 mg. rifampin and 25 mg./kg. ethambutol for the first two months and subsequently 15 mg./kg. The others received the same dosage of ethambutol and 450 mg. rifampin daily. The average time of sputum conversion was seven weeks and 11 weeks in the two groups respectively. The patients tolerated these drug regimens well.Rifampin blood levels and urinary excretion were studied monthly during the therapy. They indicated that after a short period of treatment the elimination of this drug became faster owing to increased excretion of rifampin, and particularly of its desacetyl metabolite, in the bile. Liver damage resulted in a slower excretion rate. Rifampin should be taken on an empty stomach because simultaneous food intake reduces the peak blood concentration.