Based on the results of the state health technology assessment (HTA), the State Expert Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine recommends including the inhaled medicinal product tobramycin in the list of medicinal products procured with state funds.
This concerns its use for the treatment of chronic pulmonary infection caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in patients with cystic fibrosis.
Why is this important?
Chronic lung infections remain one of the key causes of deterioration in health status and premature mortality in patients with cystic fibrosis. Access to effective antibacterial therapy in this case is critically important for:
- preserving lung function
- reducing the frequency of exacerbations
- improving the quality and duration of life of patients.
What do the clinical data show?
According to the results of a clinical trial (Hodson et al., 2002 and Adeboyeku et al., 2006), the inhaled medicinal product tobramycin demonstrates improvement in respiratory lung function, in particular forced expiratory volume FEV₁ (p=0,008), compared with colistin.
At the same time, tobramycin is recommended by both national clinical protocols and international guidelines. In global practice, it is mostly used in alternation with colistin, which helps maintain the effectiveness of therapy during long-term use and reduce the risks of antibiotic resistance.
The recommendation of the Center to include tobramycin in state procurement is another important step towards ensuring access for patients with a rare disease – cystic fibrosis – to free treatment within state programmes, preserving the quality and length of their lives.
The HTA conclusion can be reviewed on the Center's website at the link https://surl.li/iakwel
