Abstract

LANIADO-LABORIN, Rafael. Treatment of multidrug-resistant pulmonary TB: Standardized or individualized therapy?. Rev. Inst. Nal. Enf. Resp. Mex. [online]. 2005, vol.18, n.3, pp.206-210. ISSN 0187-7585.

Due to the fact that there where no official guidelines for the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), the Mexican health authorities published the TAES-plus guidelines, for the prevention and control of MDR-TB in December 2004. This recommendations, which basically suggest that treatment failures should be managed with standardized empirical regimens, is based in the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the treatment of MDR-TB in low-income countries. However, recently, researchers from the same WHO have challenged the efficacy of this policy. Cure rates of failure cases retreated with regimens based on first-line drugs alone are, on average, lower than 50%. Such figures are simply unacceptable. It is known that such low cure rates are due largely to MDR-TB. It is time, therefore, to close the chapter on cases who fail the treatment regimen with first-line drugs and yet receive retreatment regimens based on the same drugs.

Keywords : Tuberculosis; drug resistance; treatment; DOT-plus.

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