A systematic review on extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis from 2009 to 2020: special emphases on treatment outcomes

Abstract

Objectives. Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) has raised a great threat to human health globally, es-pecially in developing countries. The objective of the present study is to collate and contrast the proportions of treatment outcome in the previously published XDR-TB articles. Material and methods. By considering inclusion criteria and search engines, a total of 22 articles were enrolled. Results. Our findings revealed that the overall favorable treatment outcome was 24.04%. From the cohort of enrolled studies 19.76% (397) and 43.35% (871) patients were cured and died respectively. In 90.9% of enrolled articles, the inves-tigators performed drug-susceptibility testing at the baseline. The overall treatment outcome was improved by the use of new drugs (linezolid, bedaquiline, ciprofloxacin, clofazimine) in the treatment regimen of XDR-TB showing linezolid and bedaquiline better results i.e. 59.44 and 78.88%, respectively. Moreover, use of antiretroviral treatment in XDR-TB patients with HIV infection have not shown any significant difference in the treatment outcome. Conclusions. XDR-TB treatment success can be achieved by implying standardized definitions, upgraded diagnostic pro-cedures, and novel drugs.