Use of drug-susceptibility testing for management of drug-resistant tuberculosis, Thailand, 2004-2008.

In 2004, routine use of culture and drug-susceptibility testing (DST) was implemented for persons in 5 Thailand provinces with a diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB). To determine if DST results were being used to guide treatment, we conducted a retrospective chart review for patients with rifampin-resistant or multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB during 2004-2008. A total of 208 patients were identified.

Effect of mycobacterial drug resistance patterns on patients' survival: a cohort study in Thailand.

Background: Drug resistance substantially increases tuberculosis (TB) mortality. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of mycobacterial drug resistance pattern and association of common resistance patterns with TB mortality in Thailand.

Method: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using TB surveillance data.

Prospective evaluation of simply modified MODS assay: an effective tool for TB diagnosis and detection of MDR-TB.

Background And Setting: Thailand is one of the highest tuberculosis (TB)-burdened countries. Chiang Rai, the northernmost province of Thailand has high tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence and the laboratory workload for TB culture and drug susceptibility testing is increasing.

Objectives: To evaluate the simply modified microscopic-observation drug-susceptibility assay (MODS) in the setting of a developing country.

Time of highest tuberculosis death risk and associated factors: an observation of 12 years in Northern Thailand.

Purpose: Northern Thailand is a tuberculosis (TB) endemic area with a high TB death rate. We aimed to establish the time of highest death risk during TB treatment, and to identify the risk factors taking place during that period of high risk.

Patients And Methods: We explored the TB surveillance data of the Chiang Rai province, Northern Thailand, retrospectively for 12 years.