BURULICO Drug Trial Study Protocol: RCT SR8/SR4+CR4, GHANA

Buruli ulcer disease (BUD) is caused by infection with Mycobacterium ulcerans. It usually starts as a small nodule under the skin but may progress to an ulcerative lesion; and eventually large, usually painless ulcers may develop. When it heals - with surgery or without - it may cause severe scarring resulting in disability and deformity. BUD has emerged as an important infectious disease among rural populations in West Africa. The standard treatment used to be surgical excision for all forms and stages. In 2004. The World Health Organisation advised the use of streptomycin (S, 15 mg/kg daily, intramuscularly) and rifampicin (R,10 mg/kg daily) along with surgery. This preliminary advice was based on the observation in 21 patients with pre-ulcerative lesions of BUD, who were given daily SR treatment for varying periods of time. If patients had received such treatment for at least 4 weeks, M. ulcerans could not be cultured again from the lesions that were excised. The treatment has been implemented in areas with poor access to surgical facilities, in Pobe, Benin, and although no formal evaluation or comparison with other treatments have been conducted or published, the impression is that this treatment is probably beneficial and may cure BUD without the need for additional surgical management.

This study protocol was designed to evaluate the hypothesis that early, limited lesions of Buruli ulcer (M. ulcerans disease; pre-ulcerative or ulcerated lesions, less than or equal to 10 maximum diameter), can be healed without recurrence using antimycobacterial drug therapy, without the need for debridement surgery.

In endemic regions in Ghana, active case finding will be followed by accrual of patients

• 5 years of age and over, with
• limited early (i.e., onset less than 6 months) lesions of Buruli ulcer.

After appropriate consent by patients and / or their care givers or legal representatives, patients will be diagnosed both by

• clinical evaluation, and
• by analysis of three punch biopsies (0.3 cm each) under local anaesthesia.

Only patients with confirmation of M. ulcerans disease - presence of dry reagent-based polymerase chain reaction (DRB-PCR) signal with insertion sequence IS2404, were to be randomised to receive either SR for 8 weeks, or 4 weeks of SR followed by oral treatment consisting of R and clarithromycin (C), as allocated by a computer-generated program; patients will be stratified for ulcerative or pre-ulcerative lesions.

Patients who meet the clinical criteria for M ulcerans disease but are PCR negative, will be offered 8 weeks RS treatment, as is presently provisionally recommended by WHO, and will be evaluated separately, according to the protocol for patients allocated to 8 weeks RS treatment. All biopsies from lesions will be subjected to histopathology, DRB-PCR-, microscopy, culture, genomic, sensitivity tests and external quality control in laboratories in Kumasi (KNUST), Hamburg (BNITM), Munich (DITM) and Antwerp (ITM). Lesions will be assessed regularly for progression or healing during treatment. Drug toxicity will likewise be monitored: renal and audiographic tests for S and C, ECG for C, and liver enzymes for R and C, and blood cell counts for C.

The primary endpoint is healing without recurrence at 12 months follow-up after start of treatment Secondary endpoint is reduction in lesion surface area and/or clinically assessed improvement on completion of treatment, averting the need for debridement surgery.

Recurrences will be biopsied for confirmation, using PCR, histopathology, and culture. In all, 200 patients will need to be screened according to protocol, and 2x74 evaluable patients will be randomised based on a power analysis to detect a difference of 20 % in recurrence-free cure 12 months after start of treatment between the two groups (60 versus 80%). A Data Safety and Monitoring Board will make interim analyses.

Inclusion criteria

• Male or female patients
• At least 5 years of age
• A clinical diagnosis of early M. ulcerans disease including:

• Nodules
• Plaques and small ulcers with or without oedema and less than or equal to 10cm in maximum diameter
• Disease duration no longer than six months
• DRB-PCR positive for M. ulcerans

Exclusion criteria

• Treatment with macrolide or quinolone antibiotics, or antituberculous medication, or immunomodulatory drugs including corticosteroids within the previous one month.
• Current treatment with any drugs likely to interact with the study medication, e.g, anticoagulants, cyclosporin, phenytoin, oral contraceptive, and phenobarbitone.
• History of hypersensitivity to rifampicin, streptomycin and or clarithromycin.
• History or having current clinical signs of ascites, jaundice, partial or complete deafness, myasthenia gravis, renal dysfunction (known or suspected), diabetes mellitus, and immune compromise; or evidence for past or present tuberculosis.
• Pregnancy
• Inability to take oral medication or having gastrointestinal disease likely to interfere with drug absorption.
• Excessive alcohol intake.
• Any situation or condition which may compromise ability to comply with the trial procedures.
• Lack of willingness to give informed consent (and/or assent by parent/legal representative).