Anti-tuberculosis therapy (ATT) data set

The trial was started with the intellectual guidance from ICMR and WHO, funded by USAID through the Model DOTS project and partially by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) intramural grant. The trial evaluated the efficacy of three different anti-tuberculosis therapy (ATT) regimens in HIV co-infected pulmonary tuberculosis patients, started on concomitant antiretroviral therapy as per prevailing national guidelines. The trial procedures included thorough clinical assessment and interventional procedures to collect specimens from not only sputum but pleural, pericardial, Lymph node aspirate and CSF from these advanced HIV –TB co-infected participants, to meticulously gauge treatment, as PLHIV participants were prone for extra pulmonary dissemination as well. The opportunistic laboratory in NIRT served to detect and manage other concomitant opportunistic pathogens as well, to precisely define TB outcomes for the trial. The trial also helped to predict and manage immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome, which was a big hurdle to hassle –free immune restoration with ART presenting as apparent failures despite improvement in both diseases. The findings from this trial, which highlighted the superior outcomes of daily ATT over intermittent therapy, were aligned with ICMR's relentless efforts to improve tuberculosis treatment strategies and reduce the emergence of drug resistance, saving thousands of lives among the dually infected and remains the only global evidence of a direct comparison of Daily vs thrice weekly intermittent ATT in the randomised controlled clinical trial mode.