Drinkers' Intervention to Prevent Tuberculosis (DIPT Study) (DIPT)

There is an urgent global need to decrease the high mortality of tuberculosis (TB) in persons with HIV as TB is the leading cause of death among persons with HIV worldwide. The DIPT (Drinkers' Intervention to Prevent TB) study is a randomized, 2x2 factorial trial among HIV/TB co-infected adults in Uganda with heavy alcohol use (n=680 persons, 340 each U01). The goal of the study is to determine whether economic incentive interventions can promote both reduced alcohol use and isoniazid (INH) pill taking among HIV/TB co-infected adult heavy drinkers, during isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT: a six-month course of INH) at HIV clinics in southwestern Uganda. Participants will be randomized to one of four arms: Arm 1: no incentives (control); Arm 2: economic incentives for decreasing alcohol use only; Arm 3: economic incentives for IPT adherence only; Arm 4: economic incentives for decreasing alcohol use and for IPT adherence (rewarded independently).

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: HIV/AIDS; Tuberculosis
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Incentives for negative EtG test; Behavioral: Incentives for positive IsoScreen test

Detailed Description

TB is the leading cause of death among persons with HIV worldwide, and HIV-infected drinkers are at very high risk for TB disease and mortality. Globally, an estimated 25% of persons with HIV are heavy drinkers, and the risk of TB disease is 3-fold higher among heavy drinkers compared to non-drinkers. Six months of isoniazid (INH) preventive therapy (IPT) reduces TB morbidity and mortality by 30-50% above the benefit of antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, INH can be toxic to the liver, and as a result in many high TB/HIV prevalence settings, such as east Africa, heavy drinkers are not offered IPT. Thus interventions to reduce alcohol use are needed to decrease INH toxicity during IPT among HIV/TB infected drinkers. It is also well established that heavy drinkers have poorer ART adherence, and there is growing evidence of reduced IPT adherence in drinkers. However, interventions to reduce drinking have had limited impact on ART adherence, and further interventions to increase IPT adherence among HIV/TB infected drinkers are likely needed.

The use of incentives to promote healthy behavior is a highly effective approach for reducing substance use and for improving adherence to HIV and TB regimens in resource-rich settings. Economic incentives to reduce alcohol use may create a window for safe and effective IPT use over six months by decreasing hepatotoxicity. Decreases in alcohol use may also improve IPT adherence, or additional incentives for IPT adherence may be needed. Such strategies to reduce alcohol use have not been studied in low-income countries and the effectiveness of incentives to optimize IPT in HIV/TB co-infected drinkers is unknown.

OBJECTIVES

Aim 1: Alcohol Reduction Intervention: Determine the effectiveness of economic incentives contingent on point-of-care (POC) urine ethyl glucuronide (EtG) <300 ng/mL (Arms 2 & 4) versus no alcohol incentives (Arms 1 & 3) to reduce heavy drinking over 6 months, among HIV/TB co-infected adult drinkers receiving IPT. The investigators will randomize participants to low-cost escalating prize incentives for EtG negative urine tests at IPT refill visits (Arms 2+4), versus no incentives (Arms 1+3).

Aim 2: INH Adherence Intervention: Determine the effectiveness of economic incentives contingent on POC (IsoScreen) INH urine positive tests (Arms 3 & 4) versus no INH incentives (Arms 1 & 2) on INH adherence among HIV/TB co-infected adult drinkers. The investigators will randomize participants to low-cost escalating prize incentives for INH positive urine tests at IPT refill visits (Arms 3+4), versus no incentives (Arms 1+2).

Aim 3: Impact Assessment of Intervention: Assess the impact of economic incentives on HIV virologic suppression and explore their mechanisms of action, six months after trial completion. The investigators will follow all study participants for six months after trial completion.

1. Assess the impact of the 3 separate incentive interventions (Arms 2, 3, 4) vs. no incentives (Arm 1) on HIV virologic suppression.
2. Explore the mechanisms that may drive the economic incentives to increase virologic suppression. Potential mediators will be reductions in alcohol use and level of IPT adherence.

This study will leverage new low-cost POC tests for alcohol use and INH pill-taking for the first study of incentive-based alcohol and adherence interventions in low-resource settings; these interventions may improve the safety and effectiveness of life-saving medications for heavy alcohol users in many settings.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 680
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Uganda
  • Mbarara, Uganda
    • Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH): Immune Suppression Syndrome HIV
  • Mbarara, Uganda
    • Infectious Disease Research Collaboration (IDRC)

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• HIV-infected adult (≥18 years) prescribed antiretroviral therapy (ART) for at least 6 months;
• Current heavy alcohol use (AUDIT-C positive for prior 3 month drinking and positive EtG urine test);
• Positive tuberculin skin test (TST) (≥5 mm induration);
• AST and ALT <2x the upper limit of normal (ULN);
• Fluent in Runyankole or English;
• No history of active TB, TB treatment, or TB preventive therapy;
• Lives within 2-hour travel time or 60 km of the study site.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Prescribed nevirapine (NVP, an ART drug that is declining in usage due to high risk for hepatotoxicity);
• Plans to move out of the catchment area within 6 months;
• Prescribed anti-convulsion medications or history of recurring seizures;
• ALT or AST elevations (>2X ULN);
• Suspected or confirmed active TB as determined by symptom screening and followed by chest X-ray and sputum testing;
• History of prior active TB treatment or prior IPT.
• Pregnant at time of screening

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Factorial Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control; All participants will receive brief alcohol and adherence counseling according to Uganda Ministry of Health guidelines.
Experimental: Escalating incentives (EtG tests); Escalating incentives for EtG negative urine test (Intervention: Incentives for negative EtG test).	Behavioral: Incentives for negative EtG test; Economic incentives are given to the study participant contingent on point-of-care (POC) urine ethyl glucuronide (EtG) <300 ng/mL with the amount of the incentive escalating with each subsequent negative EtG test.
Experimental: Escalating incentives (IsoScreen tests); Escalating incentives for IsoScreen positive urine tests (Intervention: Incentives for positive IsoScreen test).	Behavioral: Incentives for positive IsoScreen test; Economic incentives contingent on POC (IsoScreen) INH urine positive tests with the amount of the incentive escalating with each subsequent positive IsoScreen test.
Experimental: Escalating incentives (EtG + IsoScreen); Escalating incentives for EtG negative tests and for IsoScreen positive urine tests with the incentives rewarded separately (Interventions: Incentives for negative EtG test and Incentives for positive IsoScreen test).	Behavioral: Incentives for negative EtG test; Economic incentives are given to the study participant contingent on point-of-care (POC) urine ethyl glucuronide (EtG) <300 ng/mL with the amount of the incentive escalating with each subsequent negative EtG test.; Behavioral: Incentives for positive IsoScreen test; Economic incentives contingent on POC (IsoScreen) INH urine positive tests with the amount of the incentive escalating with each subsequent positive IsoScreen test.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of Participants With and Without Non-hazardous Drinking, as Determined by Self-report and the Biomarker Phosphatidylethanol, at 3- and 6-months.	Non-hazardous drinking is a composite outcome, measured at both 3 and 6 months. An individual must meet criteria for non-hazardous drinking (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test - Consumption [AUDIT-C], prior 3 months, negative) and phosphatidylethanol (PEth) <35 ng/mL) at both time-points (3- and 6-months) in order to achieve the outcome.	Both 3 months and 6 months (composite measure)
Number of Participants With >90% Isoniazid (INH) Adherence During Prescribed Course of INH	Isoniazid (INH) adherence percentage is defined as the number of days with >0 pill bottle openings divided by the number of prescribed doses, times 100. Pill bottle openings are captured by the Medication Event Monitoring System (MEMS) pill cap, with no more than 1 opening per day counted. The INH adherence outcome is INH adherence percentage, dichotomized as >90% versus <= 90%.	6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of Participants With Hepatotoxicity Resulting in Isoniazid (INH) Discontinuation.	Isoniazid (INH) treatment discontinuation due to a Grade 3+ hepatotoxicity at any time during the treatment period. Grade 3 hepatoxicity is defined by lab and/or clinical criteria as alanine transaminase (ALT) or aspartate transaminase (AST) elevation ≥5 (but <10) times the upper limit of normal and/or symptoms consistent with hepatotoxicity; and Grade 4 as ALT or AST elevation ≥10 times the upper limit of normal or potentially life-threatening symptoms.	up to 9 months
INH Concentration in Hair	Secondary Outcome. INH concentration in hair captures INH adherence over a period of weeks to months. Hair samples collected at the 3- and 6-month study visits will be analyzed for INH concentration.	3 and 6 months
Number of Participants With and Without HIV Viral Suppression at 12 Months	The percentage of study participants with HIV viral load suppression (defined as <200 copies/ml) at 12 months post-enrollment.	12 months
Number of Participants With Active Tuberculosis (TB).	Secondary Outcome. Number of participants diagnosed with active TB, within the 12 months of study follow-up.	12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of California, San Francisco
• Collaborators: Mbarara University of Science and Technology; Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration, Uganda
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Judith A Hahn, PhD, University of California, San Francisco; Principal Investigator: Gabriel Chamie, MD, MPH, University of California, San Francisco

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Lodi S, Emenyonu NI, Marson K, Kwarisiima D, Fatch R, McDonell MG, Cheng DM, Thirumurthy H, Gandhi M, Camlin CS, Muyindike WR, Hahn JA, Chamie G. The Drinkers' Intervention to Prevent Tuberculosis (DIPT) trial among heavy drinkers living with HIV in Uganda: study protocol of a 2x2 factorial trial. Trials. 2021 May 20;22(1):355. doi: 10.1186/s13063-021-05304-7.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 16, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 1, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): August 2, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 20, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 2, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): April 10, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 7, 2025
• Last Verified: January 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Infections; Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections; Bacterial Infections; Bacterial Infections and Mycoses; Actinomycetales Infections; Mycobacterium Infections; Tuberculosis
• Other Study ID Numbers: 17-22727

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No