Additional second line TB drug resistance in high Burden MDR TB setting

Abstract

Introduction. Standard treatment regimen containing 4 second line tuberculosis drugs (SLD) is currently prescribed in multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) patients while drug sensitivity test (DST) results are pending. However, potential additional resistance to SLD could lead to exposure of these patients to non-efficient toxic regimen during 2-4 weeks of pending period. Therefore, data on frequency of additional SDL resistance in MDR TB patients is crucial for programmatic decision on treatment policies in this group of patients.