Dennis Falzon, Neel Gandhi, Giovanni B Migliori, Giovanni Sotgiu, Helen S Cox, Timothy H Holtz, Maria-Graciela Hollm-Delgado, Salmaan Keshavjee, Kathryn DeRiemer, Rosella Centis, Lia D'Ambrosio, Christoph G Lange, Melissa Bauer, Dick Menzies
A meta-analysis for response to treatment was undertaken using individual data of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) (resistance to isoniazid and rifampicin) patients from 26 centres. The analysis assessed the impact of additional resistance to fluoroquinolones and/or second-line injectable drugs on treatment outcome. Compared with treatment failure, relapse and death, treatment success was higher in MDR-TB patients infected with strains without additional resistance (n=4763; 64%, 95% CI 57-72%) or with resistance to second-line injectable drugs only (n=1130; 56%, 95% CI 45-66%), than in those having resistance to fluoroquinolones alone (n=426; 48%, 95% CI 36-60%) or to fluoroquinolones plus second-line injectable drugs (extensively drug resistant (XDR)-TB) (n=405; 40%, 95% CI 27-53%)...
July 2013: European Respiratory Journal