Tuberculosis is treatable and curable. The sputum from
the lungs of a person with the symptoms of tuberculosis are collected for
diagnosis. Once the TB bacteria are found to be present, the patient should be
isolated especially while they are in the most infectious stage. Several drugs
are used in the treatment of TB. A patient must complete the full course of
treatment to ensure that all the bacteria are killed.
Reference:
The most common drugs used in the treatment of tuberculosis, which are also the first-line
anti-tuberculosis drugs include:
• Isoniazid
• Rifampicin (Rifampin)
• Pyrazinamide
• Ethambutol |
| Structural formula of the first line anti-TB drugs |
 |
| The forms of some first line anti-TB drugs present |
There are also second-line anti-tuberculosis drugs, being used in special conditions like in treating Multiple-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB)
and Extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB). They are classified as second-line as they may be less
effective than the first-line drugs, have toxic side effects (like hepatitis,
depression and hallucination) or may not be available in certain countries. The
six classes of second-line anti-TB drugs are aminoglycosides, polypeptides, Fluoroquinolones, thioamides, cycloserine and Terizidone.
The treatment of TB usually takes six to nine months or
longer. As stated, there are two forms of TB – inactive TB and active TB.
Normally, latent TB is treated with a single type of anti-TB drug to prevent
its progressing into active TB. Active TB is treated with a combinations of
several anti-TB drugs. The length of treatment and the drugs that should be
used exactly depend on patient’s
- age
- weight
- overall health
- form of TB infected
- infection’s location
- drug resistance
Anti-TB drugs are only able to kill drug-sensitive
strain of TB bacteria, leaving resistant ones behind. Drug resistance is a
result of the mutation in the bacterial DNA. There are several reasons that
increase the chance of mutation:
• TB is left untreated
• patient stops the
treatment before all the bacteria are being killed
(Some patients stop their treatment after they feel
better without knowing that if they are not completely cured, M. tuberculosis
may develop resistance to the drugs used)
Multiple-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB)
MDR-TB is the tuberculosis that is resistant to at least two main drugs used to cure TB – Isoniazid & Rifampicin (which are known as the two most effective and successful first-line anti-TB drugs)
Extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB)
XDR-TB is the tuberculosis that is resistant to first-line anti-TB drugs and the drugs used to treat MDR-TB.
MDR-TB is the tuberculosis that is resistant to at least two main drugs used to cure TB – Isoniazid & Rifampicin (which are known as the two most effective and successful first-line anti-TB drugs)
Extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB)
XDR-TB is the tuberculosis that is resistant to first-line anti-TB drugs and the drugs used to treat MDR-TB.
The resistant TB strains would not be cured by a
standard six-to-nine month treatment using first-line anti-TB drugs. They
required longer term treatment(can take up to two years or more) and more
expensive drugs. Normally, MDR-TB needs long term treatment with second-line
anti-TB drugs while XDR-TB needs extensive chemotherapy for up to two years.
Since completing treatment is important to reduce the
risk of having drug-resistant M. tuberculosis strains, the World Health
Organization promotes DOTS (direct observation treatment, short course). Health
workers help to make sure that the patients take their medicine regularly for
about six to nine months.
Here's a music video about tuberculosis:
Reference:
No comments:
Post a Comment