[Tuberculosis-current therapeutic principles]

Chemotherapy for tuberculosis is indicated in case of disease as well as in latent tuberculosis infection. Standard medication for drug-susceptible tuberculosis consists of isoniazid and rifampicin for six months with additional pyrazinamide and ethambutol for the first two months. Prolonged treatment is necessary in cases of cavernous pulmonary tuberculosis with lack of negative cultures by two months of therapy, in tuberculosis of the central nervous system and in some cases of superficial lymph node disease. Especially in multiple-drug resistant tuberculosis prolonged treatment with three or more drugs, that have been proven to be effective by susceptability testing, is mandatory. Attention must be payed to reliable delivery of chemotherapy as well as to side effects of antituberculosis medications. The classical treatment for latent tuberculosis infection is isoniazid. Multidrug short-course therapy, which has been shown to be equally effective, enhances patients' compliance, but toxicity is increased.