How Do Patients Who Fail First-Line TB Treatment but Who Are Not Placed on an MDR-TB Regimen Fare in South India?

Abstract

Treatment outcomes of patients who fail a first-line anti-TB treatment and who are not placed on an MDR-TB regimen are unacceptably poor. The worst outcomes are seen among category II failures and those with negative cultures or drug-resistance. There are important programmatic implications which need to be addressed.