[Mycobacterium avium intracellulare infections. Treatment with a clarithromycin-clofazimine combination. 18 cases].

Infections caused by Mycobacterium avium intracellulare have become worrying because of their higher frequency, their new tendency to diffuse in all tissues (notably the blood) and the lack of curative treatment. The mortality rate remains high and the survival of patients after AIDS is diagnosed is estimated at 7.4 months. The effectiveness of new antimycobacterial drugs, observed in experiments on beige mice, has not yet been confirmed. In 18 patients suffering from this infection, either disseminated (88 percent) or localized in the lung (12 percent), a 12-week treatment with the clarithromycin-clofazimine combination has succeeded in sterilizing the pathological samples. Most patients reported a distinct improvement in their general condition, with fall of temperature, disappearance of most other symptoms, weight gain and better quality of life. Treatment was interrupted in 1 patient owing to liver toxicity. In this study the median survival of the patients after the Mycobacterium avium complex has been estimated at 11.4 months after the diagnosis of AIDS at 28.9 months.