Multidrug-resistant TB in Eastern region of the EU: is the shorter regimen an exception or a rule?

Balabanova, Yanina; Fiebig, Lena; Ignatyeva, Olga; Riekstina, Vija; Danilovits, Manfred; Jaama, Kaadri; Davidaviciene, Edita; Radiulyte, Birute et al. · Thorax · 2017

retrospective_cohort · Level III

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Abstract

WHO recently recommended the use of a shorter multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) regimen under programmatic conditions. We assessed eligibility for this regimen in a cohort of 737 adult patients with MDR-TB from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Bucharest city recruited in 2007 and 2009. Only 4.2% of the patients were eligible for this regimen. Ethambutol (64%), pyrazinamide resistance (58%) and previous exposure to second-line TB drugs were major reasons for non-eligibility. High-level resistance to isoniazid is expected due to widespread prevalence of <i>katG</i> mutations. In Eastern Europe, the use of the shorter regimen might be an exception rather than a rule.

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