[Tuberculosis treatment in 2007]

Treatment principles have changed little over the past 30 years and most patients with tuberculosis should receive isoniazid, rifampin, pyrazinamide and ethambutol during the first two months (initial phase), and isoniazid and rifampin during 4 months thereafter (continuation phase). Thorough guidelines were elaborated by the Conseil Supérieur d'Hygiène Publique de France in 2003 and were widely publicized since, including in the journal "Médecine et Maladies Infectieuses". However, this general review is largely justified by the amount of data accumulated over recent years, including: i) resistant-tuberculosis epidemiology (rising incidence of multi-resistant tuberculosis in Eastern Europe, the emergence of ''extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis''); ii) latent tuberculosis standard of care (new diagnostic tests; chemoprophylaxis and workout guidelines before initiating TNF inhibitors); iii) corticosteroids in neuromeningeal tuberculosis; iv) new therapeutic options for multi-resistant tuberculosis (moxifloxacin, linezolid); v) tuberculosis treatment in HIV-infected patients; vi) discrepancies between guidelines and practices in France.