Need to reinvigorateTuberculosis research in India - A review of studies registered under clinical trial registry of India.

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most serious public health issues in India. According to the global TB report 2020, India accounts for about one-quarter of the global TB burden. Despite considerable advances in mandatory notification of all TB cases, incorporation of the national health programmes with general health services (National Health Mission), and national drug resistance surveillance and many other accomplishments, much more needs to be considered in India to significantly decrease TB incidence. Research is the foundation for medical breakthroughs. In this study, all Tuberculosis-related studies registered under Clinical Trial Registry of India from its inception in July 2007 to February 2021 were reviewed and analysed using the keyword ''Tuberculosis'' in the 'Trial Search' section. A total of 31,196 studies were registered in CTRI, with 180 studies (0.58%) being related to tuberculosis. Of these studies, 76 (42.2%) were interventional in nature. These consisted of evaluating different management or treatment TB (50%, n = 90), diagnostic studies (19.4%, n = 35) and studies related to screening and prevention of TB (7.8%, n = 14). Maximum studies were conducted to evaluate safety and efficacy of anti-TB drugs (10%, n = 18) and to evaluate efficacy of shortening of duration of treatment (8.9%, n = 16). The studies related to extra pulmonary TB, MDR TB and TB in special populations and sources of funding and locations of the study sites were also analysed. These indicate that only minimal TB-related researches are conducted in India. It is indispensable to promote tuberculosis research in India in order to eradicate this infectious disease.