title: Pattern of primary tuberculosis drug resistance and associated treatment outcomes in Transnistria, Moldova.
abstract: This cohort study assessed drug susceptibility testing (DST) patterns and associated treatment outcomes from Transnistria, Moldova, from 2009 to 2012. Of 1089 newly registered tuberculosis (TB) patients with available DST results, 556 (51%) had some form of drug resistance, while 369 (34%) had multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). There were four cases of extensively drug-resistant TB. MDR-TB patients had poor treatment success (45%); human immunodeficiency virus positivity and a history of incarceration were associated with an unfavourable treatment outcome. This first study from Trans-nistria shows a high level of drug-resistant TB, which constitutes a major public health problem requiring urgent attention.
authors.affiliation: TB Coordination, TB Control Programme, Bendery, Transnistria, Republic of Moldova.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Dolgusev
authors.affiliation: Republican Tuberculosis Hospital, TB Control Programme, Bendery, Transnistria, Republic of Moldova.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Obevzenco
authors.affiliation: Republican TB Dispensary, TB Control Programme, Bendery, Transnistria, Republic of Moldova.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Padalco
authors.affiliation: TB Control Programme, Tiraspol, Transnitria, Republic of Moldova.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pankrushev
authors.affiliation: Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland ; University of St Andrews Medical School, Fife, Scotland, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ramsay
authors.affiliation: Operational Centre Brussels, Operational Research Unit (LuxOR), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Van den Bergh
authors.affiliation: Operational Centre Brussels, Operational Research Unit (LuxOR), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Manzi
authors.affiliation: International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Denisiuk
authors.affiliation: Operational Centre Brussels, Operational Research Unit (LuxOR), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zachariah
keywords: SORT IT; incarceration; migration; operational research