Keywords
Tuberculosis; Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis; Tuberculosis treatment regimen
Abstract
Tuberculosis is a disease caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. It typically involves the lungs and can manifest as latent tuberculosis or as an active infection. While it is treatable and preventable, according to the WHO, it remains one of the leading causes of death in the world among infectious diseases. The guidelines suggest new pulmonary tuberculosis to be treated with a 6-month multidrug regimen. In some cases an inappropriate regimen or poor patient compliance can lead to drug resistance and consequent relapse of symptoms. This has caused two types of resistant tuberculosis to emerge: multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis. We present a 29-year-old female with a medical history of tuberculosis that had not undergone adequate treatment and presented to our Emergency Department with persistent cough and hemoptysis. An initial work up was performed and the sputum smear microscopy for Acid Fast Bacilli confirmed a reactivation of tuberculosis. Subsequent tests revealed that the specimen was resistant to isoniazid, rifampicin and streptomycin, which allowed us to diagnose the relapse as multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Despite the in vitro resistance the patient continued her treatment course with rifampicin, isoniazid, ethambutol and pyrazinamide. That led to a full resolution of her symptoms and after three consecutive negative sputum smears the patient was discharged from our clinic.
Citation
Kurtova K, Konstantinidou A, Triantafyllidis C (2023) A CaseStudy of Multi Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in a Patient with Reactivation of Tuberculosis. SM J Pulm Med 6: 9.