HIGH RELAPSE RATE AMONG LEPROMATOUS LEPROSY PATIENTS TREATED WITH RIFAMPIN PLUS OFLOXACIN DAILY FOR 4 WEEKS

Fifty-one lepromatous leprosy patients, all of whom had relapsed after previous dapsone (DDS) monotherapy, were treated between 1990 and 199 1 with 600 mg of rifampin (RMP) plus 400 mg of ofloxacin (OFLO) daily for 4 weeks, and the great majority of the patients were followed up a t least once a year after completion of the treatment, After only 173 patient-years of follow-up, 5 relapses had been detected; the overall relapse rate was 10.0% (confidence limits, 1.7 and 18.3%), or 2.9 rela pses (confidence limits, 0.4 and 5.4) per 100 patient-years. The unacc eptably high relapse rate indicated that 4 weeks of treatment with dai ly RMP-OFLO was unable to reduce the number of viable Mycobacterium le prae organisms to a negligible level, In addition, the M. leprae from one of the relapses were proved to have multiple resistance to DDS, RM P, and OFLO. To avoid further relapses, the follow-up was terminated a nd the great majority of the patients were retreated with the standard 2-year multidrug therapy from 1994, No further relapse has been diagn osed since the beginning of retreatment.