Outcomes for clinical trials of host-directed therapies for tuberculosis

While a major goal of host-directed therapies for tuberculosis is to improve the microbiologic efficacy of treatment, an additional goal is to decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with the disease. Despite cure, up to half of successfully treated tuberculosis patients have evidence of impaired pulmonary function, which has been implicated in disability, poor quality of life, and higher risk of mortality. In this section, outcomes of respiratory health for pulmonary tuberculosis will be discussed with the aim of facilitating the development of host-directed therapy trials. While there are a wide variety of conventional and novel lung health metrics available, the most established objective and subjective measures will be discussed. References with listings of alternative options will be included to facilitate selection of clinically relevant outcome measures.