Results of a 12-month regimen for drug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis

SETTING: Several therapeutic regimens for drug-resistant tuberculosis have been suggested, most of them with a total duration of 18-24 months.OBJECTIVE: To report our experience using a shorter regimen.DESIGN: Fifty patients with drug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis were managed by withdrawing all anti-tuberculosis drugs until the results of a drug sensitivity test were obtained (∼3 months), and then a 12-month self-administered regimen with four to six anti-tuberculosis drugs at full daily doses was initiated, based primarily on the sensitivity test and secondarily on the history of previous treatment.RESULTS: In 31 patients treatment was completed as planned, in six it was irregular and 13 definitively abandoned it. In the best scenario, 90.3% (28/31) of patients with full treatment were cured; this outcome was similar for both multidrug-resistant (MDR, n = 18, 88.9%) and non-MDR (n = 13, 92.3%) patients. Six months later, the relapse rate was 4.8%, and after a 5-year follow-up 14 out of 18 cured patients who were located remained asymptomatic (77.8%). If the worst scenario was applied, a 62.0% cure rate (31/50) was obtained.CONCLUSIONS: A 12-month regimen with a minimum of four anti-tuberculosis agents at full dose, essentially selected on drug sensitivity testing, could be an alternative option for the treatment of drug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis.