Tuberculosis and HIV disease

November 2004     View PDF     En español

Coping with treatment

Anti-HIV therapy requires the use of many pills. Adding multi-drug anti-TB regimens on top of anti-HIV therapy can be daunting. Some people find it difficult to cope with taking the large number of pills, daily, required for treating both HIV and TB. There are options to explore that might help to make this easier.

Short-course anti-TB treatments

• Anti-TB regimens that are taken 2–3 times per week rather than daily
• Combination pills (one pill that includes two or more drugs), like Rifamate (rifampin/isoniazid) or Rifater (rifampin/isoniazid/pyrazinamide)
• Use of long-acting drugs, like rifapentine (Priftin), that require less frequent dosing
• Use of reminders, rewards and practical support, like childcare and transportation
• Directly observed therapy (DOT)
• DOT is advised for all people living with both HIV and TB. DOT involves receiving drugs daily from a healthcare worker who gives you the medication and watches you take it. DOT is intended to help people adhere to medication, decrease the risk of developing resistance, decrease recurrence of TB disease and hopefully contain the spread of TB.