title: Community-based short-course treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis in a developing nation. Initial report of an eight-month, largely intermittent regimen in a population with a high prevalence of drug resistance.
abstract: A community-based tuberculosis case-finding and short-course chemotherapy program was conducted in a suburb of Manila and featured 1 month of daily isoniazid (INH), rifampin (RIF), ethambutol (EMB), and pyrazinamide (PZA) followed by 7 months of twice-weekly, high dose, directly observed INH + EMB + PZA. Church-affiliated lay workers obtained 1,990 sputum specimens from subjects who complained of chronic cough or wasting symptoms; 207 of the specimens were positive on Ziehl-Neelsen smears. On culture, 176 yielded a significant growth of M. tuberculosis. Of these 176 patients, 144 were selected to enter the study; 10 were lost because of withdrawal or death and four (2.7%) because of drug toxicity. This left 130 patients who were followed long-term. Remarkably, 80% (104) were initially shedding drug-resistant organisms; 26% (34) were resistant to one drug, 30% (40) were resistant to two drugs, and 24% (30) were resistant to three or more drugs. Responses to therapy corresponded closely to the extent of drug resistance: 80% (48 of 60) of patients with drug-susceptible or single resistance had a favorable outcome; 43% (28 of 65) were resistant to two or three drugs, and 0% (0 of 5) of those were resistant to four or more drugs. Notable findings of this study were the success of a community-based program in conducting prolonged, directly observed treatment, the unexpectedly high prevalence of multiple-drug-resistant organisms in this population, and the inadequacy of INH + PZA + EMB during the continuation phase of therapy in this setting.
authors.affiliation: Lung Center of the Philippines, Quezon Institute, Manila.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Manalo
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Sbarbaro
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Iseman
mesh_terms: D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003153:Community Health Services; D003906:Developing Countries; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006801:Humans; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects; D010679:Philippines / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents