Drug-resistant tuberculosis in subjects included in the Second National Survey on Antituberculosis Drug Resistance in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the prevalence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) among tuberculosis patients in a major Brazilian city, evaluated via the Second National Survey on Antituberculosis Drug Resistance, as well as the social, demographic, and clinical characteristics of those patients.


METHODS
Clinical samples were collected from tuberculosis patients seen between 2006 to 2007 at three hospitals and five primary health care clinics participating in the survey in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil. The samples were subjected to drug susceptibility testing. The species of mycobacteria was confirmed using biochemical methods.


RESULTS
Of the 299 patients included, 221 (73.9%) were men and 77 (27.3%) had a history of tuberculosis. The mean age was 36 years. Of the 252 patients who underwent HIV testing, 66 (26.2%) tested positive. The prevalence of MDR-TB in the sample as a whole was 4.7% (95% CI: 2.3-7.1), whereas it was 2.2% (95% CI: 0.3-4.2) among the new cases of tuberculosis and 12.0% (95% CI: 4.5-19.5) among the patients with a history of tuberculosis treatment. The multivariate analysis showed that a history of tuberculosis and a longer time to diagnosis were both associated with MDR-TB.


CONCLUSIONS
If our results are corroborated by other studies conducted in Brazil, a history of tuberculosis treatment and a longer time to diagnosis could be used as predictors of MDR-TB.
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Vania Celina Dezoti
VC
Micheletti
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
José da Silva
Jda S
Moreira
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Marta Osório
MO
Ribeiro
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Afranio Lineu
AL
Kritski
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
José Ueleres
JU
Braga
D000328:Adult; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D018088:Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D014505:Urban Population
D000995:Antitubercular Agents