Standard Short-Course Chemotherapy for Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis

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Abstract
The World Health Organization (WHO) tuberculosis (TB) control strategy, directly observed treatment short-course (DOTS), consists of 5 components, including the administration of standardized short-course chemotherapy (SCC) regimens with first-line drugs (isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide, and streptomycin or ethambutol or both) under direct observation, at least in the intensive treatment phase, regardless of patient drug-susceptibility pattern.1 This strategy, which is considered by the World Bank as one of the most cost-effective interventions in human health,2 has now been adopted by 119 countries worldwide.3