BACKGROUND: Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB), defined as TB caused by a Mycobacterium strain resistant to at least rifampicin, isoniazid, any fluoroquinolone and one of the injectable anti-tuberculosis drugs, remains a worldwide public health threat. Among repurposed drugs empirically used for XDR-TB cases, carbapenems have been studied in vitro and in animal models, with encouraging results. However, only short-term follow-up data from clinical studies are currently available.

OBJECTIVES: To study the long-term follow-up of XDR-TB cases treated with a regimen containing meropenem-clavulanate (M/Clav).

DESIGN: Retrospective observational case series study at a single hospital.

METHODS: All hospitalised drug-resistant TB patients who received M/Clav as part of their treatment from 2009 to 2016 were included. Demographic and clinical data were extracted from medical records.

RESULTS: Eighteen XDR-TB patients were included in the analysis. The successful outcome and mortality rates were respectively 83.3% and 11.1%. No relapses were observed in cured patients after a median follow-up of 4 years. No specific adverse events were attributed to treatment with M/Clav.

CONCLUSION: The rate of sustained successful treatment outcome observed here is far higher than the 26% observed in the 2014 World Health Organization XDR-TB cohort, suggesting that carbapenems may be beneficial for the treatment of difficult-to-treat TB cases.