Utility of pre-treatment evaluation in Initiation of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis treatment

Abstract

The emergence of resistance to the first line anti-tuberculosis) drugs has posed a significant threat to the global mission of reducing the magnitude of TB. Considering the life threatening nature of the multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB), in addition to the poor cure rate or success rate, high default rate or incidence of complications and the potential risk of transmission of the disease to a susceptible contact, early diagnosis and initiation of the patient on second-line anti-TB drugs is of prime public health importance. The first step in ensuring a good outcome is to initiate the MDR-TB treatment regimen based on the pre-treatment evaluation (PTE) done at the drug resistant TB (DR-TB) center by an expert committee. To conclude, PTE is the crucial foundation in ensuring a favorable outcome to the treatment of DR-TB as a good PTE can detect and avert the possible drug induced adverse effects at the earliest.

Keywords

• India
• multi-drug resistant
• pre-treatment evaluation
• tuberculosis