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Managing Adverse Events in TB Care: Key Insights from the 11th UNITE4TB Webinar
On 26 September, UNITE4TB hosted its third webinar of 2024 and the 11th in its quarterly series, organized by project partners Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto (ISPUP) and the European Respiratory Society (ERS). The session focused on a critical issue in tuberculosis (TB) management: handling adverse events in TB care.
Adverse events are a common challenge for those undergoing TB treatment. These events can significantly impact adherence to medication and overall treatment outcomes. The webinar featured Dr. Simon Tiberi, a Global Health Physician at GSK and Honorary Professor at Queen Mary University of London, with facilitation from Professors Christoph Lange and Raquel Duarte. Discussants Dr. Aparna Sharma and Mr. Shamsuddeen Yusuf Ma’aruf also contributed to the conversation.
Dr. Tiberi explained that adverse events occur in 25-75% of TB patients, often leading to poor adherence, treatment interruptions, and treatment failure. Some side effects, he noted, are mistaken for new diseases, with pyrazinamide being the drug most frequently associated with adverse effects.
The presentation covered key standards for managing adverse effects, as outlined in the clinical standards for lung health. These include monitoring, managing symptoms, and using patient-centered grading systems to assess the severity of side effects. Dr. Tiberi emphasized the importance of early detection, pharmacogenomics, and therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) to prevent or reduce the severity of adverse events.
During the Q&A session, several important topics were discussed, including:
- The potential use of selected TB drugs for skin tests or patches
- Reducing stigma around TB through country-specific strategies
- The role of telemedicine in managing and monitoring adverse drug reactions
- Data management improvements using AI and telemedicine to track TB drug-related events
The discussion also touched on the challenges in resource-limited settings, the difficulties in distinguishing drug-drug reactions, and nutritional side effects related to TB drugs. Dr. Tiberi highlighted the lack of detailed protocols for handling adverse events in TB care and stressed the importance of expert consultation in managing these situations. Safety concerns around newer TB drugs, such as bedaquiline, were also addressed.
To close the webinar, Dr. Tiberi recommended reviewing the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease standards for managing adverse events during TB treatment, specifically the work of Singh KP et al., published in July 2023.
Watch the full webinar recording here
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