A Pilot Clinical Trial Characterizing Use of Ingestion Sensor Enabled Rifamate in Comparison to Directly Observed Therapy for the Treatment of Tuberculosis

This study uses an ingestion sensor and a wearable sensor (worn as a patch on the skin), which are new Proteus Digital Health (PDH) technologies approved by the FDA, to collect information about patients taking their TB medications. The wearable sensor records information, which is uploaded wirelessly to a mobile device and then to a secure computer. Together the sensors and the mobile device transmitting the information to the study computer are called a digital health feedback system (DHFS), which gives healthcare providers information about when patients have taken their TB medications. The advantage of the DHFS is that patients can take their medication where and when it is convenient for them, and do not have to wait for a nurse to directly observe them taking their medication.

The purpose of this study is to find out if using these new technologies works as well as the standard method of observing in person when patients take their TB medications. This study will also look at the costs of using a DHFS for TB medications, what patients and healthcare providers think about using it, and other factors that can determine when one approach works better than another.

This study has two parts. For the first part of the study (Step I), patients will have an initial screening visit and then, in one two-week period, they will have 4 study visits at the UCSD AntiViral Research Center (AVRC) and routine visits from Public Health Services (PHS) workers. This part of the study is designed to confirm that the DHFS is working correctly and is accurately collecting information about each dose of medication that patients take, and to understand what patients and healthcare providers think about using the DHFS.

If patients are eligible for the second part of the study (Step II) and want to continue, that will last another 8-14 weeks with an additional 4 study visits at the AVRC. In the second part of the study, patients will be randomized into one of the following two groups.

Group 1: TB treatment is monitored by continued use of the DHFS

Group 2: TB treatment is monitored by the standard methods used by PHS (DOT)

The second part of the study is designed to compare these two methods of observing patients taking their TB medications, what the relative costs of these methods are , and the perception by patients and/or healthcare providers of the ease of use of the novel technology.