ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the clinical effect of linezolid combined with levofloxacin in the intensive treatment of tuberculous meningitis.Methods:Seventy-six patients with tuberculous meningitis who underwent intensive treatment from May 2015 to April 2018 in the Fourth People's Hospital of Taiyuan were included in this study. They were assigned to a control group ( n = 38) and an observation group ( n = 38) according to treatment methods. The control group was given conventional treatment (isoniazid + rifampicin + pyrazinamide + ethambutol). The observation group was given treatment with linezolid combined with levofloxacin based on conventional treatment. All patients were treated for 8 successive weeks. Clinical efficacy was compared between the two groups. Results:Total effective rate and the incidence of complications were 92.11% (35/38) and 5.26% (2/38) respectively in the observation group, and they were 68.42% (26/38) and 23.68% (9/38) respectively in the control group. There were significant differences in total effective rate and the incidence of complications between the two groups ( χ2 = 6.727 and 5.028, both P < 0.05). After treatment, white blood cell count, blood glucose level, and protein level were (30.21 ± 4.16) × 10 6/L, (3.65 ± 0.32) mmol/L and (0.79 ± 0.05) g/L, respectively in the observation group, while they were (54.28 ± 6.42) × 10 6/L, (2.18 ± 0.21) mmol/L, (0.98 ± 0.21) g/L, respectively in the control group. There were significant differences in white blood cell count, blood glucose level and protein level between the two groups ( t = 19.396, 23.675, 4.538, all P < 0.05). There was significant difference in the score of quality of life between the control and observation groups [(187.59 ± 4.11) points vs. (216.94 ± 3.90) points, t = 31.933, P < 0.05]. Conclusion:Linezolid combined with levofloxacin based on conventional treatment exhibits better clinical efficacy with high safety in the intensive treatment of tuberculous meningitis than conventional treatment.