[Treatment Outcomes among Drug-susceptible Patients with Tuberculosis in the Republic of Korea, 2019-2020]

The number of patients with tuberculosis (TB) in the Republic of Korea (ROK) has decreased by 7.4% on average each year over the past decade since reaching its peak in 2011 (39,557 cases) and declined to more than 50% in 2021. To continue reducing the number of patients with TB, an improvement in the TB treatment success rate (TSR) is required. The World Health Organization considers the "TB TSR" as a significant indicator for TB control, with a target reaching at least "90%." In ROK, the TSR and mortality rate among all patients with TB was 80.1% and 14.8% in 2020 and decreased by 1.8% and increased by 1.7%, respectively, compared with the rates in 2019. The TB TSR among aged 65 years and older was the lowest at 70.8% (extra-pulmonary TB, 82.6%; smear-negative pulmonary TB, 81.6%; and smear-positive pulmonary TB, 74.7%). The TSR was 6.1% higher in new patients (81.3%) than that in previously treated patients (75.2%), and the treatment interruption rate was two times higher in previously treated patients (3.6%) than in new patients (1.8%). Various efforts are necessary to improve the TSR not only by investigating the cause of death but also developing relevant policies and projects to support vulnerable patients that target groups with have a relatively low TSR, including smear-positive and previously treated patients.