Persons with advanced stages of HIV are considered to be at particular risk for developing disseminated MAC disease. The development of an effective regimen for the prevention of disseminated MAC disease may be of substantial benefit in altering the morbidity and possibly the mortality associated with this disease and its treatment.
Patients are randomized to receive clarithromycin alone, rifabutin alone, or the two drugs in combination daily. Patients are evaluated every 4 weeks for the first 8 weeks and every 8 weeks thereafter for the duration of the study. Patients are followed for 24 months. Per amendment, a pharmacokinetic substudy will be conducted.
