Effectiveness of a Simplified Short Regimen for Multidrug Resistant Tuberculosis in Uzbekistan

Multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) is a growing problem and few people have access to adequate diagnosis and treatment. The current recommended treatment regimen for MDR TB has a minimum of 20 months duration with high toxicity. Scale up of MDR TB treatment is associated with high default rates, and experience in the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) programme in Uzbekistan shows that the current standard treatment greatly limits the ability to scale up to meet the high rates of MDR TB in the region. Evidence from Bangladesh in 2010 showed that a 9-month short-course regimen could achieve a relapse-free cure rate of 88%. Several countries in West Africa started implementing similar regimens with similar outcomes. Evidence of effectiveness of this shortened regimen among regions with high second line drug use and resistance is still limited. The investigators propose an observational study under programmatic conditions to evaluate the effectiveness of a shortened course MDR TB regimen in the high MDR/extensively drug resistant (XDR) TB prevalence and high second-line drug resistance setting of Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan.