Extensively drug-resistant TB in Eastern Cape, South Africa: high mortality in HIV-negative and HIV-positive patients.

Background: Tuberculosis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Patients with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) have had high mortality rates, especially when coinfected with HIV.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of the first 206 patients treated for XDR-TB in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, October 2006 to January 2008, a province that has treated multidrug-resistant tuberculosis since 2000.