• Hongjo Choi, Jeongha Mok, Young Ae Kang, Dawoon Jeong, Hee-Yeon Kang, Hee Jin Kim, Hee-Sun Kim, and Doosoo Jeon.
• Department of Preventive Medicine, Konyang University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea.
• J. Korean Med. Sci. 2023 Feb 6; 38 (5): e33e33.

BackgroundThe treatment outcomes of patients with multidrug/rifampin-resistant (MDR/RR) tuberculosis (TB) are important indicators that reflect the current status of TB management and identify the key challenges encountered by TB control programs in a country.MethodsWe retrospectively evaluated the treatment outcomes as well as predictors of unfavorable outcomes in patients with MDR/RR-TB notified from 2011 to 2017, using an integrated TB database.ResultsA total of 7,226 patients with MDR/RR-TB were included. The treatment success rate had significantly increased from 63.9% in 2011 to 75.1% in 2017 (P < 0.001). Among unfavorable outcomes, the proportion of patients who failed, were lost to follow up, and were not evaluated had gradually decreased (P < 0.001). In contrast, TB-related death rate was not significantly changed (P = 0.513), while the non-TB related death rate had increased from 3.2% in 2011 to 11.1% in 2017 (P < 0.001). Older age, male sex, immigrants, low household income, previous history of TB treatment, and comorbidities were independent predictors of unfavorable outcomes. Of the 5,308 patients who were successfully treated, recurrence occurred in 241 patients (4.5%) at a median 18.4 months (interquartile range, 9.2-32.4) after completion treatment.ConclusionThe treatment outcomes of patients with MDR/RR-TB has gradually improved but increasing deaths during treatment is an emerging challenge for MDR-TB control in Korea. Targeted and comprehensive care is needed for vulnerable patients such as the elderly, patients with comorbidities, and those with low household incomes.© 2023 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

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