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Does Discontinued TB Treatment Lead To TB Relapse Or Drug Resistance?
Question: Hi doctor,
My mother had TB 21 years ago. She stopped TB treatment after she had no symptoms. The duration of her treatment is around 2-3 months with 2 drugs (rifampin and another drug she did not remember, I guess it is most likely isoniazid). My mother is 62 years old now and she does not have other major conditions. She did not have TB recurrence after her first treatment.
I learned that insufficient TB treatment may lead to relapse and drug-resistance. I want to know what is my mother's chance of having TB relapse? If she have active TB again, what is her chance of having drug resistance TB?
Are there any research papers studying this?
Thanks a lot for the help.
My mother had TB 21 years ago. She stopped TB treatment after she had no symptoms. The duration of her treatment is around 2-3 months with 2 drugs (rifampin and another drug she did not remember, I guess it is most likely isoniazid). My mother is 62 years old now and she does not have other major conditions. She did not have TB recurrence after her first treatment.
I learned that insufficient TB treatment may lead to relapse and drug-resistance. I want to know what is my mother's chance of having TB relapse? If she have active TB again, what is her chance of having drug resistance TB?
Are there any research papers studying this?
Thanks a lot for the help.
Brief Answer:
9.6% chance of relapse; around 10% chance of DR
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome.
Thank you for writing to us.
I have gone through your query with diligence and would like you to know that I am here to help. There are two points we need to discuss from your query and I shall discuss both of them separately ma'am.
First, we shall discuss her chances of relapse. From various studies conducted relapse rate for patients treated with a complete course of anti-tubercular therapy was found to be 9.6 % approximately. Whereas, for patients with a history of TB and incomplete anti-tubercular therapy the relapse rates go up to about 30-40 %. Unfortunately I cannot share links on our forum, but with a little research and looking into the right sites you will find the information you are seeking in regards to the given percentage (results).
Second, let us now discuss the chances of drug-resistance in your mother's case. There are certain causes/risk factors to the development of drug-resistance in TB patients. They are:
-Make sure the patient understands his/her diagnosis and its seriousness so they understand how important treatment is
-Make sure you use all the resources (medication wise) and treat the infection the first time around
-Make sure you employ second-line of drugs if necessary to treat the infection the very first time
-Make sure the patient completes their course of therapy
As you can see from the above mentioned points, it is important to complete the course of therapy. But the chances of developing drug-resistance from an incomplete course is only increased if the patient is not tested afterwards and his/her infection was not completely treated. This is not the case with your mother, as she was tested and her infection was very well treated and adequately treated, after which the course was discontinued or cut short. From studies conducted, there is a 10% increase in chance of having drug-resistant TB due to discontinuation or an incomplete course of anti-tubercular medication.
I hope you find my response helpful and informative. Please feel free to write back to me for any further clarifications, I would be more than happy to help you.
Best wishes.
9.6% chance of relapse; around 10% chance of DR
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome.
Thank you for writing to us.
I have gone through your query with diligence and would like you to know that I am here to help. There are two points we need to discuss from your query and I shall discuss both of them separately ma'am.
First, we shall discuss her chances of relapse. From various studies conducted relapse rate for patients treated with a complete course of anti-tubercular therapy was found to be 9.6 % approximately. Whereas, for patients with a history of TB and incomplete anti-tubercular therapy the relapse rates go up to about 30-40 %. Unfortunately I cannot share links on our forum, but with a little research and looking into the right sites you will find the information you are seeking in regards to the given percentage (results).
Second, let us now discuss the chances of drug-resistance in your mother's case. There are certain causes/risk factors to the development of drug-resistance in TB patients. They are:
-Make sure the patient understands his/her diagnosis and its seriousness so they understand how important treatment is
-Make sure you use all the resources (medication wise) and treat the infection the first time around
-Make sure you employ second-line of drugs if necessary to treat the infection the very first time
-Make sure the patient completes their course of therapy
As you can see from the above mentioned points, it is important to complete the course of therapy. But the chances of developing drug-resistance from an incomplete course is only increased if the patient is not tested afterwards and his/her infection was not completely treated. This is not the case with your mother, as she was tested and her infection was very well treated and adequately treated, after which the course was discontinued or cut short. From studies conducted, there is a 10% increase in chance of having drug-resistant TB due to discontinuation or an incomplete course of anti-tubercular medication.
I hope you find my response helpful and informative. Please feel free to write back to me for any further clarifications, I would be more than happy to help you.
Best wishes.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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