The combination of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and ofloxacin in the treatment of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis

A 67-year-old [correction of 53] man with multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) had been persistently positive for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) both on sputum smear and also on culture with the Ogawa egg medium for 30 years since 1951. The case had been treated previously with isoniazid, rifampin, streptomycin, ethambutol, kanamycin, ethionamide, paraaminosalicylate and cycloserine; however, M. tuberculosis strains isolated from this patient acquired a high resistance to all of these agents. Then, a new regimen of chemotherapy, INH combined with ofloxacin (OFLX) and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (AMPC/ CVA), was applied to the case. He was successfully treated with this regimen, and a marked decrease in the amount of AFB on smear as well as on culture was observed during the course of chemotherapy. No adverse effects were seen meanwhile. These data suggest that it is worth while to try a regimen containing AMPC/CVA and OFLX in the treatment of MDR-TB.