Randomized Trial of Liposomal Amphotericin B for Histoplasmosis in AIDS Patients

Overview

Disseminated histoplasmosis (DH) is one of the major AIDS-defining infections responsible for high mortality rates in HIV-infected patients. Liposomal amphotericin B (L-AmB) is considered the therapy of choice for AIDS-associated histoplasmosis.However, many patients in Latin America are still treated with high doses of deoxycholate amphotericin B (d-AmB) for long periods. These regimens are associated with toxicity and thus reduced efficacy. Therefore, a better treatment strategy is necessary to improve the activity of this amphotericin B treatment. Treatment with a high dose of L-AmB for short periods (rather than standard doses for longer periods) is a promising approach considering that the antifungal effect of amphotericin B depends on peak concentrations. This randomized open-label Phase II study aims to determinate and to compare the activity and safety of three L-AmB regimens, as induction therapy for DH in AIDS patients.

This is a prospective randomized non-comparative multicenter open label trial of induction therapy with LAmB for DH in AIDS patients, followed by oral therapy with itraconazole. The sample size planned is 99 patients of both sexes, older than 18 years (33 patients per study arm), infected with HIV and with confirmed diagnosis for DH. This sample size considers 10% of dropout. The study will be conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration, as well as the Standards national and international Guidelines for Good Clinical Practices. Eight research centres in Brazil will competitively recruit patients: Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Porto Alegre (Porto Alegre; Dr Alessandro C. Pasqualotto), Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (Porto Alegre; Dr Diego R. Falci), Hospital Nossa Senhora da Conceição (Porto Alegre; Dr Marineide Melo), Hospital de Doenças Tropicais (Goiânia; Dr Cassia S. de Miranda Godoy), Hospital São José de Doenças Infecciosas (Fortaleza; Dr Terezinha M. J. Silva Leitão), and Hospital Giselda Trigueiro (Natal, Dr Monica B. Bay), Hospital Universitário Osvaldo Cruz (Recife, Dr. Filipe Prohaska Batista) e Instituto de Infectologia Emília Ribas (São Paulo, Dr. José Ernesto Vidal Bermudez). AIDS patients with DH will be randomized to one of three study arms: (i) single IV dose of 10 mg/kg of L-AmB; (ii) single IV dose of 10 mg/kg of L-AmB on day 1, followed by 5 mg/kg of L-AmB on day 3; (iii) IV dose of 3 mg/kg of L-AmB for 2 weeks. Induction therapy will be followed in all patients by oral therapy with itraconazole capsules at 400 mg/daily for a year, azole drug which is already therapy of choice for consolidation of histoplasmosis, according to national and international Guidelines.