[Clinical guidelines for tuberculosis of Japan compared with those of other countries]

The Standards of Tuberculosis Treatment of Japan issued by the government and some related announcements by the Japanese Society of Tuberculosis are compared with the Recommendations of American Thoracic Society, CDC, and Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the Treatment Guidelines of WHO. International Standards of Tuberculosis Care by Tuberculosis Coalition for Technical Assistance is also referenced as appropriate. Although they are different in many ways in minor points, they share the basic principle of using the regimen of the initial phase with four drugs followed by the maintenance with two or three drugs including rifampicin and isoniazid for new cases. They also stress the importance of support of patients for treatment completion, but the ways to realize it are delicately different among them.