A Phase II Safety and Efficacy Study of Clarithromycin in the Treatment of Disseminated M. Avium Complex (MAC) Infections in Patients With AIDS

Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) is thought to be the most common disseminated bacterial opportunistic infection in AIDS, with clinical prevalence estimates ranging from 15 to 50 percent of all AIDS patients. Clarithromycin, a new macrolide antimicrobial agent, has demonstrated activity against MAC both in the laboratory and in animals. Clinical experience treating AIDS patients with clarithromycin for disseminated MAC is limited. However, early studies have indicated few adverse effects and some improvement in clinical symptoms scores and Karnofsky performance scores over placebo treated patients.

Treatment is randomly assigned so that twice as many patients receive clarithromycin at the lower dose as at an intermediate dose for 12 weeks. Once data becomes available to support dosing patients with clarithromycin at the highest dose, then treatment will be randomly assigned so that twice as many patients receive clarithromycin at the highest dose as at the intermediate dose. Sixteen patients per group (48 patients in all) will be enrolled. Patients exhibiting clinical improvement or clinical cure while on this trial will be allowed to continue on therapy for an additional 6 months. Patients will have clinical evaluations (including the Karnofsky Performance Scale), laboratory evaluations (hematology and chemistry), and blood cultures for MAC performed monthly.