[Drug resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its significance in the hospital practice]

The author describes the trends in frequency and nature of primary drug resistance throughout the last 3 decades. Favourable trends in 1980s changed for negative tendencies in 1990s which reflects deterioration of epidemiological situation by tuberculosis. Earlier establishment of drug resistance is possible basing on its direct determination in the conditions of massive bacterial discharge. In new-onset contacts antibioticogram should be primarily copied from that of contamination source, in recurrent disease antibioticogram should correspond to that obtained in the same patient at first test.