The standard, 9-month antituberculosis regimen included 10 mg of rifampin per kg per day whilst the intensified regimen included higher-dose rifampin (15 mg per kg per day) and levofloxacin (20 mg per kg per day) for the first 8 weeks of treatment.
An editorial notes that coupled with the recent findings of the failure of fluoroquinolone treatment to contribute to the sterilisation of lesions and to shorten the duration of treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis, these results are disappointing, and they suggest that although fluoroquinolones may replace isoniazid because of their good bactericidal activity and may assist in treating drug-resistant tuberculosis, they are not going to revolutionise the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis or tuberculous meningitis. It adds that the usefulness of fluoroquinolones is also threatened by a rising prevalence of fluoroquinolone resistance among Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates in many countries. Furthermore, the new antituberculosis drugs (bedaquiline, delamanid and pretomanid) are highly protein-bound and unlikely to have free penetration into cerebrospinal fluid, and potential adverse events will probably limit any increase in their use.