• Doosoo Jeon, Hyungseok Kang, Yong Soo Kwon, Jae Joon Yim, and Tae Sun Shim.
• Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Yangsan, Korea.
• J. Korean Med. Sci. 2020 Sep 7; 35 (35): e284.

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the current status and trends in the coverage of molecular drug susceptibility testing (mDST), and the impact of mDST on the time to multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) treatment initiation in Korea.MethodsWe included confirmed rifampin-resistant (RR)/MDR-TB patients who submitted application forms for novel drug uses to the National TB Expert Review Committee from September 1, 2016 to November 30, 2019. We retrospectively reviewed their medical records.ResultsOf the 621 MDR/RR-TB patients, mDST was performed in 442 (71.2%); Xpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) alone in 109 (17.6%), MTBDRplus line probe assay (LPA) alone in 199 (32.0%), and both Xpert and LPA in 134 (21.6%) patients. The coverage rate of mDST has gradually increased to 70% in 2015, 50.7% in 2016, 67.9% in 2017, 75.2% in 2018, and 79.4% in 2019 (P for trend < 0.001). Median time to MDR-TB treatment initiation was 35 days (interquartile range25-75 0-72), which has gradually decreased during the study period (P < 0.001). Independent predictors of shorter time to MDR-TB treatment initiation were retreatment case (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.30; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10-1.54), Xpert testing (aHR, 2.42; 95% CI, 2.03-2.88), and LPA testing (aHR, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.55-2.16). Transfer to another healthcare facility was inversely related to shorter time to treatment initiation (aHR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.63-0.88).ConclusionmDST coverage is gradually increasing and contributes to reducing the time to MDR-TB treatment initiation. Further efforts are needed to achieve universal access to mDST and to properly integrate mDST into routine clinical practice.© 2020 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

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