Management of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis

Drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) originally is the product of inadequate therapy; this may entail noncompliance with treatment, interrupted drug supplies, or inappropriate prescription. Patients may sequentially acquire resistance to several drugs through repetition of this process. Loss of activity of the major drugs greatly compromises the treatment process; most problematic is resistance to both isoniazid and rifampicin, so-called 'multidrug-resistant tuberculosis' (MDR-TB). Recent evidence indicates that MDR-TB is being transmitted to others, and particularly to persons with HIV infection/AIDS. Other situations in which epidemic spread of MDR-TB occurs include hospitals and prisons. In several areas of the world, ominous levels of MDR-TB have been identified in a recent WHO survey. Treatment of MDR-TB entails the use of poorly tolerated, second-line medications that are often toxic, and the duration of treatment must be extended to the range of two years. Resectional surgery may be required to effect cures in patients with advanced disease in which most of the first-line agents have been lost to resistance.