CLINICAL RESEARCH UPDATE

by Carolyn Chu, MD, MSc, AAHIVS, AAHIVM Chief Medical Officer

October 10, 2023


Featured Literature:

Gupta A, Hughes MD, Cruz JL, et al.  Adverse pregnancy outcomes among HIV-infected women taking isoniazid preventive therapy during the first trimester.  Clin Infect Dis.  2023 Sep 28; ciad583.  doi: 10.1093/cid/ciad583.  PMID: 37768207    

ACTG 5279 BRIEF-TB was a multi-national, open-label noninferiority trial comparing two regimens for latent TB infection among people with HIV.  A planned secondary analysis included participants assigned female at birth in the standard 9-month isoniazid prevention therapy (IPT) arm who became pregnant and had known pregnancy outcome.  This study presents information from 128 participants (39 IPT-exposed, 89 unexposed): 70% were recruited from sub-Saharan Africa; median age and CD4 were 31.5 years and 552 cells/µL at pregnancy outcome.  Compared to unexposed participants, fewer IPT-exposed participants were receiving ART at pregnancy outcome (79% vs. 96%), and the regimen was less likely to include efavirenz at enrollment (23% vs. 33%) and at pregnancy outcome (64% vs. 87%).  All IPT-exposed pregnancies were conceived while taking isoniazid, and a small proportion also had second trimester exposure (relatively few had third trimester exposure).  19/39 (49%) completed IPT while pregnancy was ongoing, 9 (23%) discontinued IPT early, 8 (21%) had a pregnancy outcome while taking IPT, and 3 (8%) had possible early exposure.  35/128 (27%) pregnancies ended in a non-live birth outcome, including 25 spontaneous abortions, 6 induced abortions, 2 stillbirths, and 2 ectopic pregnancies.  Multivariate analyses indicated a nearly 2-fold increased risk of fetal demise with IPT exposure at conception and continuing into at least the first trimester; this effect was attenuated when adjusted for covariates proximal to pregnancy outcome including ART use.  Proportions of preterm delivery and low birth weight were similar between IPT exposed and unexposed participants.

Author’s Commentary:

Tuberculosis continues to affect women, with global modeling studies estimating 200,000 incident diagnoses during pregnancy each year.  Maternal TB disease is associated with poor outcomes, especially among women with HIV—therefore it is critical to identify safe and effective TB preventive therapies in pregnant people, especially people with HIV infection.  Although findings from this analysis complement those from a prior trial (TB-APPRISE) which observed increased adverse pregnancy outcomes with antenatal IPT exposure, results from retrospective programmatic data evaluation have differed.  Because pregnant people are systematically excluded from almost all randomized trials of TB preventive therapy, and the evidence base remains inconclusive, authors highlight the importance of ensuring pregnant people have “full access and inclusion in relevant TB trials” to improve clinical guidelines and support data-informed decision making.   

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