Treatment failure in tuberculosis

¹ Dept of Child Health, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester LE1 5WW

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: wren.hoskyns{at}uhl-tr.nhs.uk.

	Abstract

Treatment of latent Tuberculosis (TB) infection, with 3 months of Rifampicin/Isoniazid, is a major part of TB preventive programmes. The effectiveness of treatment of Latent TB infection can only be assessed by rates of subsequent breakdown and there are few outcome data for this combination.

Aim of the study was to estimate the failure rate following treatment for the latent TB infection.

We undertook a questionnaire survey of all parents of children under 16 years who completed treatment for latent TB infection at Leicester Royal Infirmary from 1997-2003. Cases of treatment failure were identified by: Reviewing all re-referrals to the clinic, identifying children developing TB disease while on treatment and postal questionnaire to all patients discharged.

Of the eligible 400 children, 344 (86%) replied. 3 children who had latent TB infection subsequently developed TB disease over the time period. Of those 3 patients, 1 developed Chest X Ray signs at the end of treatment and 2 presented with symptoms within 2 years of completing treatment. Overall, treatment failure rate was 0.87% (0.3-2.5) or 2.2 cases per 1000 patient years.

In conclusion rates of TB breakdown after treatment for latent TB infection with 3 months Rifampicin/Isoniazid are acceptably low.