Urgent need to rethink treatment outcome definitions in tuberculosis

What is it about?

The World Health Organization defines treatment outcomes for patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis. These depend on the possibility to change drugs during the treatment, and completing the full course of treatment. But drugs for changing are not always available, and the optimal duration is actually unknown. This study proposes new definitions and shows that these fit well with current medical practice.

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Why is it important?

The new definitions fit with current medical practice, where patients are considered cured only after some time past the end of treatment (like in cancer). With the definitions being independent of the actual duration of therapy makes that they remain valid and comparable when guidelines on treatment duration change .