Article Text
Reminder of important clinical lesson
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis that required 2 years for diagnosis
Summary
Isoniazid (H) or rifampicin (R) mono-resistant disease can be treated easily and effectively with first-line drugs, while combined H and R resistance (ie, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB)) requires treatment with at least four agents, including a quinolone and an injectable agent. Drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains are reported to be extremely difficult to cultivate invitro. The authors report a case of MDRTB that required 2 years for diagnosis, and was detected only in sputum culture on solid medium. Physicians should consider MDRTB if TB is suspected but pathogens are not detected.
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Footnotes
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Competing interests None.
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Patient consent Obtained.