Prevalence of multidrug resistance among retreatment pulmonary tuberculosis cases in a tertiary care hospital, Hyderabad, India

Subhakar Kandi; Surapaneni Venkateswara Prasad; P Navaneeth Sagar Reddy; Vennaposa Chenna Kishore Reddy; Rajya Laxmi; Dhanamurthy Kopuu; Kiran Kumar Kondapaka; M S Sreenivas Rao; P H Vishnu

doi:10.4103/0970-2113.120599

Prevalence of multidrug resistance among retreatment pulmonary tuberculosis cases in a tertiary care hospital, Hyderabad, India

Lung India. 2013 Oct;30(4):277-9. doi: 10.4103/0970-2113.120599.

Authors

Subhakar Kandi¹, Surapaneni Venkateswara Prasad, P Navaneeth Sagar Reddy, Vennaposa Chenna Kishore Reddy, Rajya Laxmi, Dhanamurthy Kopuu, Kiran Kumar Kondapaka, M S Sreenivas Rao, P H Vishnu

Affiliation

¹ Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Abstract

Background: India is one of the high tuberculosis (TB) burden countries in the world. India ranks second in harboring multi drug resistant (MDR)-TB cases. About 50,000 of MDR cases are recorded in retreatment pulmonary TB cases. This study was conducted in a tertiary care facility (Government General and Chest Hospital) in Hyderabad, India.

Objectives: TOASSESS: Proportion of the TB patients having MDR-TB at the initiation of retreatment regimen; the prevalence of isoniazid (INH) resistance in this geographical area.

Materials and methods: An analytical, observational, prospective cohort study of patients attending the out-patient department from December 2010 to March 2011.

Results: Sputum samples from 100 patients were subjected to acid fast bacilli (AFB) culture and drug sensitivity testing. Of these, 28 (28%) were MDR-TB, 42 (42%) were non-MDR-TB and 39% being INH resistance.

Conclusions: In conclusion, one third of the retreatment pulmonary TB cases attending a tertiary care institute for TB will be MDR-TB at the initiation of treatment and there is a need to include ethambutol in the continuation phase of new TB case treatment in view of high INH resistance.

Keywords: Category IV (category four); India; directly observed treatment; multidrug resistant tuberculosis; retreatment cases; short-course plus (DOTS plus).