The effect of initial drug resistance on treatment response and acquired drug resistance during standardized short-course chemotherapy for tuberculosis.

Background: In Tomsk Oblast, Russian Federation, during the period of 1996-2000, most previously untreated patients with tuberculosis received standardized short-course chemotherapy, irrespective of drug-susceptibility testing results. A retrospective analysis was done to determine the effect of initial drug resistance on treatment outcome and acquired drug resistance in new patients receiving standardized short-course chemotherapy.

Methods: During the period of 1 November 1996 through 31 December 2000, a total of 2194 patients received a category 1 treatment regimen.