
Nutrition
There are 10 drugs currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating TB. Of the approved drugs, the first-line anti-TB agents that form the core of treatment regimens are: pyrazinamide (PZA). Regimens for treating TB disease have an intensive phase of 2 months, followed by a continuation phase of either 4 or 7 months.
Specialist To Consult
Patients who present with symptoms of active tuberculosis (e.g., cough, weight loss, or malaise with known exposure to the disease) should be evaluated. Three induced sputum samples for acid-fast bacillus smear and culture should be obtained from patients with findings of tuberculosis or suspicion for active disease.
What are the treatment options for tuberculosis (TB) disease?
Patient-centered case management should be used in the treatment strategy with an adherence plan that includes directly observed therapy (DOT). DOT is a strategy in which a health care worker or another designated person watches the TB patient swallow each dose of the anti-TB drugs.
What is included in the evaluation of patients with tuberculosis (TB)?
If you are having trouble with tingling and numbness, your doctor may prescribe a vitamin B6 supplement while you are in treatment. It may also be possible to change TB medications if your side effects are serious. If you are taking TB medicine on your own, it's important to get into a routine.
What is patient-centered case management in tuberculosis (TB) treatment?
What should I do if I am having trouble taking TB medicine?

What is the standard TB treatment regimen?
For new TB cases, the treatment in intensive phase (IP) will consist of eight weeks of Isoniazid, Rifampicin, Pyrazinamide and Ethambutol in daily dosages as per four weight band categories. There will be no need for extension of IP.
What are the 5 medications used in the treatment of tuberculosis?
For initial empiric treatment of TB, start patients on a 4-drug regimen: isoniazid, rifampin, pyrazinamide, and either ethambutol or streptomycin. Once the TB isolate is known to be fully susceptible, ethambutol (or streptomycin, if it is used as a fourth drug) can be discontinued.
What are the three types of TB treatment?
These are the three treatment options:Isoniazid (INH): This is the most common therapy for latent TB. ... Rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane): You take this antibiotic each day for 4 months. ... Isoniazid and rifapentine: You take both of these antibiotics once a week for 3 months under your doctor's supervision.
Which type of strategy is used for treatment of TB?
A combination of pretomanid together with moxifloxacin and pyrazinamide in an early bactericidal activity study found that this three-drug combination was more effective than standard TB treatment (isoniazid, rifampin, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol), a first-ever finding in a two-week early bactericidal activity study ...
What are the 4 first-line drugs for the treatment of TB?
Of the approved drugs, isoniazid (INH), rifampin (RIF), ethambutol (EMB), and pyrazinamide (PZA) are considered first-line anti-TB drugs and form the core of standard treatment regimens (Figure 6.4) (Table 6.2).
What are the drugs included in the six month treatment of tuberculosis?
The usual treatment is: 2 antibiotics (isoniazid and rifampicin) for 6 months. 2 additional antibiotics (pyrazinamide and ethambutol) for the first 2 months of the 6-month treatment period.
What is the most effective method to monitor TB treatment?
A chest radiograph at the end of treatment is useful to later manage TB pulmonary sequelae post-treatment. The most important evidence of improvement is conversion of the sputum culture to negative.
Which drug is included in all TB treatment regimens?
Of the approved drugs, the first-line anti-TB agents that form the core of treatment regimens are: isoniazid (INH), rifampin (RIF), ethambutol (EMB), and.
Which drug class are the medications that are used to treat tuberculosis?
Rifampin is in a class of medications called antimycobacterials. It works by killing the bacteria that cause infection.
What was the first drug used to cure tuberculosis?
The Search for the Cure In 1943 Selman Waksman discovered a compound that acted against M. tuberculosis, called streptomycin. The compound was first given to a human patient in November 1949 and the patient was cured.
Which is the first antibiotic used to treat the tuberculosis?
The first line of inquiry was the development of antibiotics from the first antibiotic (penicillin) to the first antibiotic successfully used to treat tuberculosis (streptomycin) (7, 8).
What is the first line of anti-TB drugs?
Of the approved drugs, the first-line anti-TB agents that form the core of treatment regimens are: isoniazid (INH), rifampin (RIF), ethambutol (EMB), and. pyrazinamide (PZA). Regimens for treating TB disease have an intensive phase of 2 months, followed by a continuation phase of either 4 or 7 months. The continuation phase should be extended ...
How many days a week do you have to take a dot?
All patients taking drugs fewer than 7 days per week (e.g., 1, 2, 3, or 5 days a week) must receive DOT.
When should sputum be collected for TB?
Sputum specimens for microscopic examination and culture should be obtained from patients diagnosed with TB disease at a minimum of monthly intervals until two consecutive specimens are negative on culture. It is critical to obtain a sputum specimen at the end of the intensive phase (2 months) to determine if the continuation phase should be extended. In addition, it is essential that patients have clinical evaluations at least monthly to identify possible adverse effects of the anti-TB medications and to assess adherence. All patients with TB disease should have counseling and testing for HIV.
Can INH be used for HIV?
HIV-negative Persons. A continuation phase of once-weekly INH and rifapentine can be used for HIV-negative patients who do not have cavities on the chest film and who have negative acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smears at the completion of the intensive phase of treatment.
Is TB regimens applicable?
Although basic TB regimens are broadly applicable, there are modifications that should be made under special circumstances (i.e., HIV infection, drug resistance, pregnancy, or treatment of children). Listed below are the basic regimens; please refer to Treatment of Tuberculosis. external icon. 1 for all options for the treatment ...
Is TB a public health function?
Treating tuberculosis (TB) disease benefits not only the individual patient but the community as a whole.Thus, any health care provider undertaking treatment of a patient with TB, whether a public health or private practitioner, is assuming a public health function that includes the responsibility for not only prescribing an appropriate regimen but also ensuring the patient’s adherence to the regimen until treatment is completed.
How Is Latent TB Treated?
The most common preventive therapy is a daily dose of the antibiotic isoniazid (INH) taken as a single daily pill for six to nine months. You are not contagious if you have latent TB.
What is the best treatment for TB?
The most common treatment for active TB is isoniazid INH in combination with three other drugs—rifampin, pyrazinamide and ethambutol. You may begin to feel better only a few weeks after starting to take the drugs but treating TB takes much longer than other bacterial infections.
Why do you have to air out your room?
Air out your room often so the TB germs don't stay in the room and infect someone else.
What is DOT therapy?
This means a healthcare worker will come to you to administer your medication and eliminate the concern of forgetting to take the treatment.
How to protect yourself from a sneeze?
Until your healthcare provider tells you to go back to your daily routine, here are ways to protect yourself and others near you: Take your medicine exactly as the healthcare provider directed. When you cough, sneeze or laugh, cover your mouth with a tissue. Put the tissue in a closed bag and throw it away.
How long does it take to treat TB?
The treatment for this type of TB takes much longer, 20 to 30 months to complete, and you may experience more side effects.
What are the symptoms of TB?
Yellowish skin or eyes. Dark-colored urine. Weakness, fatigue or fever that for three or more days. It is important to tell your doctor or TB nurse immediately if you begin having any unusual symptoms while taking medicine for either preventive therapy or for active TB disease.
How long does ethambutol last?
If you have drug-resistant TB, a combination of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones and injectable medications, such as amikacin or capreomycin (Capastat), are generally used for 20 to 30 months. Some types of TB are developing resistance to these medications as well.
What test is used to test for tuberculosis?
The most commonly used diagnostic tool for tuberculosis is a skin test, though blood tests are becoming more commonplace. A small amount of a substance called tuberculin is injected just ...
What is the test for TB?
Sputum tests. If your chest X-ray shows signs of tuberculosis, your doctor might take samples of your sputum — the mucus that comes up when you cough. The samples are tested for TB bacteria. Sputum samples can also be used to test for drug-resistant strains of TB.
What to do when you make an appointment?
What you can do. When you make the appointment, ask if there's anything you need to do in advance. Make a list of: Your symptoms, including any that may seem unrelated to the reason for which you scheduled the appointment, and when they began.
What is DOT therapy?
A program called directly observed therapy (DOT) can help people stick to their treatment regimen. A health care worker gives you your medication so that you don't have to remember to take it on your own.
What to do if you have a positive skin test?
If you've had a positive skin test, your doctor is likely to order a chest X-ray or a CT scan. This might show white spots in your lungs where your immune system has walled off TB bacteria, or it might reveal changes in your lungs caused by active tuberculosis.
How does physical health affect mental health?
Your physical health can affect your mental health. Denial, anger and frustration are normal when you must deal with something as challenging as tuberculosis. Talking to someone such as a therapist might help you develop coping strategies.
How long does pyrazinamide stay in your system?
The latter can be performed with a standard test, such as the Ishihara test for color blindness. After 2 months of therapy (for a fully susceptible isolate), pyrazinamide can be stopped. Isoniazid plus rifampin are continued as daily or intermittent therapy for 4 more months.
What is the best treatment for TB in pregnant women?
Pregnant women with active TB should be treated, even in the first stage of pregnancy. Isoniazid, rifampin, and ethambutol may be used. In the United States, pyrazinamide is reserved for women with suspected multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). Elsewhere in the world, pyrazinamide is commonly used in pregnant women with TB. Streptomycin should not be used, because it has been shown to have harmful effects on the fetus.
How long does ethambutol last for TB?
TB that is resistant to only rifampin (an unusual occurrence) can be treated with isoniazid, a fluoroquinolone (levofloxacin or moxifloxacin), and ethambutol for 12-18 months, depending on clinical response. Therapy should include pyrazinamide for at least the first 2 months of treatment.
What should a patient with TB undergo?
Patients with TB who are receiving pyrazinamide should undergo baseline and periodic serum uric acid assessments, and patients with TB who are receiving long-term ethambutol therapy should undergo baseline and periodic visual acuity and red-green color perception testing. The latter can be performed with a standard test, such as the Ishihara test for color blindness.
What is MDR TB?
Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) refers to isolates that are resistant to both isoniazid and rifampin (and possibly other drugs). When MDR-TB is suspected, because of a relevant history or epidemiologic information, start treatment empirically before culture results become available; obtain molecular drug susceptibility testing, if possible. Once results are known, the regimen is modified according to susceptibilities. (Costs are many times higher for the treatment of MDR-TB.) Never add a single new drug to a failing regimen.
Why is ethambutol not recommended for children?
Ethambutol is often avoided in young children because of difficulties monitoring visual acuity and color perception. However, studies show that ethambutol (15 mg/kg) is well tolerated and can prevent further resistance if the child is infected with a resistant strain. Go to Pediatric Tuberculosis for complete information on treatment of children.
When was bedaquiline approved?
Bedaquiline gained FDA approval in August 2019 for adolescents aged 12 years or older and for children as young as 5 years in May 2020. This approval was based on evidence from a single-arm, open-label, phase 2 study that enrolled 15 pediatric patients with confirmed or probable MDR-TB infection. The patients were treated with the recommended dosage of bedaquiline for 24 weeks in combination with a background regimen. [ 81]
What is 6HE in chemo?
In the continuation phase, a self-administered regimen comprising daily treatment with six months of isoniazid and ethambutol (6HE) is an option if adherence to treatment with isoniazid and rifampicin (HR) cannot be ensured; for example, in mobile populations and for patients with very limited access to health care. However, in a comparative international multicentre clinical trial, 6HE was found to be inferior to the 4HR continuation phase regimen, with a significantly higher unfavourable outcome (failure or relapse) at 12 months after the end of chemotherapy. The proportions with unfavourable outcomes were 10% for the 2HRZE/6HE regimen (initial and continuation phases administered daily), 14% for 2(HRZE)3/6HE (initial phase administered three times weekly) and 5% for 2HRZE/4HR.
What are the first line antibiotics for TB?
The standardized regimens for anti-TB treatment recommended by WHO include five essential medicines designated as “first line”: isoniazid (H), rifampicin (R), pyrazinamide (Z), ethambutol (E) and streptomycin (S). Table 2.1shows the recommended doses for adults and children.
How long does TB treatment last?
For treatment of new cases of pulmonary or extrapulmonary TB, WHO recommends a standardized regimen consisting of two phases. The initial (intensive) phase uses four drugs (rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide and ethambutol) administered for two months. This is followed by a continuation phase with two drugs (rifampicin and isoniazid) for four months or, exceptionally, with two drugs (isoniazid and ethambutol) for six months when adherence to treatment with rifampicin cannot be ensured (Table 2.2).
What is the first line of anti-TB medication?
The standardized regimens for anti-TB treatment recommended by WHO include five essential medicines designated as “first line”: is oniazid (H), rifampicin (R), pyrazinamide (Z), ethambutol (E) and streptomycin (S). Table 2.1 shows the recommended doses for adults and children.
How long is rifampicin in the initial phase?
five drugs in the initial phase(rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, ethambutol and streptomycin). The initial phase is administered for three months, with all five drugs administered for the first two months. Streptomycin is discontinued after two months, and the four remaining drugs are given in the third month. WHO recommends daily administration of drugs in the initial phase;
How long is the continuation phase of rifampicin?
three drugs in the continuation phase(rifampicin, isoniazid and ethambutol). The continuation phase is administered for five months, daily or intermittently, three times a week.
What is TB diagnostic category IV?
Patients in whom drug-resi stant TB is diagnosed and who require treatment with second-line drugs are classified as WHO TB diagnostic Category IV and require regimens termed “Category IV regimens”. This section provides guidance on the strategy options, including standardized, empirical and individualized approaches, for treating drug-resistant TB. A description of drugs, doses and coding of treatment regimens is provided in Guidelines for the programmatic management of drug-resistant tuberculosis.

Introduction
Recommended Regimens
Hiv-Negative Persons
Case Management
Follow-Up Evaluations