Treatment of drug-susceptible and drug-resistant TB: where we are and where we go

European Respiratory Society

In the latest ERS Podcast Moderator Giovanni Battista Migliori is joined by Simon Tiberi and Onno Akkerman to discuss the new available options to reduce the treatment duration for drug-susceptible patients to 4 months and for MDR-TB patients to 6 months by discussing the important ongoing trials. The speakers also discuss the ideal organization of a clinical department to ensure adequate infection control and the modern approach to monitor the blood levels of anti-TB drugs. Tuberculosis is a global emergency, with 10 million TB cases and 1.5 million deaths every year. Although treatment is the core clinical and public health interventions, only one third of the existing MDR-TB cases are diagnosed, and not all of them are treated. In addition the standard duration of treatment was 6 months for drug-susceptible TB and 16-20 months for MDR-TB, with an option (the shorter regimen) lasting 9-12 months. Disclaimer from Simon Tiberi: I am an employee of GSK. The opinions shared in this podcast are my own and not the views of my employer.