[Treatment of patients with chronic pulmonary tuberculosis with expectoration--evaluation of effectiveness]

48 patients with chronic pulmonary tuberculosis (10 women and 38 men) aged between 22 and 87 years were treated. They were sputum culture positive from 1 to 12 years (x = 3.6). In chronics all patients but one were resistant to one or more drugs (average to 4 drugs). Control group consisted of 29 patients with recently diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis sensitive to all drugs. Treatment of chronics based on: selection of drugs according to susceptibility test, using of 4-6 antituberculous drugs, treatment for not less than one year after sputum culture conversion. Control group was treated with standard therapy consisted of 3 or 4 drugs. Out of 48 chronics 13 patients dropped out due to: drug toxicity in 5 cases, noncompliance in 5 cases and death in 3 cases (in 2nd and 5th months of treatment). Of remaining 35 chronics sputum conversion was achieved in 30 cases (85.7%) average after 9 weeks. In control group 3 patients died during 2 weeks of treatment and remaining patients became sputum culture negative after average 6 weeks. Difference is significant (p = 0.006).