Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in the Netherlands:Personalised treatment and outcome

Tuberculosis (TB) caused by bacilli that are resistant to the two major drugs, rifampicin and isoniazid is defined as Multi-Drug Resistant TB or MDRTB. MDRTB kills around 50% of people affected around the world. In contrast, treatment results of MDR-TB in the Netherlands (1985-2013) have consistently shown a high success rate (86%). This is comparable with worldwide WHO-targets for drug TB that is susceptible to 1st line TB drugs. Treatment of MDRTB was based on drug susceptibility testing (DST) and fast molecular genetic tests, while dosage was adjusted by pharmacokinetic measurements, by mea... Mehr ...