Tuberculosis drug resistance patterns at SIUT.

Syed Asfar Jamal; Sheikh Aijaz Rasool; Mustafa Kamal

Tuberculosis (TB) remains endemic in our population. The growing resistance to drug poses problems in treatment and prevention of this disease. Many of the patients presenting at SLUT are those with end stage renal disease and transplanted patients. Immune Status of many of the first group and majority of the latter is comprised due to illness and drugs respectively. There is thus a predisposition to TB in both these groups and therefore drug sensitivity testing is of extreme importance. At SIUT between Nov 2000 and Dec 2001 a total of 2633 routine clinical specimen were cultured for Mycobacteria by using Lowenstein-Jensen (LJ) slants. 77.5% isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis were susceptible to all five drugs. Resistance to any drug was 22.5% Highest resistance was against Isoniazid (13.75%) followed by Streptomycin (11.25%). Multi drug resistance (MDR) was only 1.25%. Drug sensitivity testing has shown that Rifampicin remains resistant tree and MDR remains low in our series of patients. However, such testing is necessary in other population groups since compliance, incomplete treatment and reinfection are major causes of everyday drug resistance in our population.