A case series: initial outcome of persons with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis after treatment with the WHO standard retreatment regimen in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Few data address the outcomes of patients who have multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), defined as resistance to at least isoniazid and rifampin, and who receive a standard World Health Organization (WHO) recommended retreatment regimen after relapse or failure with initial treatment. In this case series, we examined treatment outcomes of a convenience sample of 42 relapse or failure patients who had documented MDR-TB and who had received a standard WHO retreatment regimen (2SHRZE/1HRZE/5H3R3E3). One patient died of tuberculosis in the last month of treatment; the remaining 41 patients completed retreatment. Of the 42, 14 (33%) were sputum smear-negative on completion of therapy. The proportion of patients cured of MDR-TB with the WHO retreatment regimen was similar to historic outcomes when no chemotherapy for TB was given.