Multidrug resistant tuberculosis

The bottom lineMultidrug resistant tuberculosis refers to tuberculosis with resistance to at least rifampicin and isoniazid Multidrug resistant tuberculosis is increasingly common; however, there is a large shortfall between the estimated total number of cases and the numbers diagnosed and treated Diagnosis is hampered by lack of access to quality assured diagnostics, although newer, rapid molecular and phenotypic methods may go some way to improving this situation Compared with drug susceptible tuberculosis, treatment for multidrug resistant tuberculosis requires the use of drug regimens that are prolonged (18-24 months), less efficacious, and noticeably more toxic; new drugs and regimens are becoming available for the first time in decades and ongoing trials should define how best they should be used Worldwide, treatment success is only around 50%; however, several settings, including some low income countries, have proved that higher success rates are achievable Sources and selection criteriaWe searched Medline, Embase, and Scielo with the terms "MDR TB", "Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant".We also reviewed the World Health Organization Global Tuberculosis Report 2014 and other national tuberculosis programme reports.We included data from systematic reviews/meta-analyses, randomised controlled trials, and good quality observational studies focused on multidrug resistant tuberculosis.