Drug-resistant tuberculosis treatment

Structure of the document 
The Recommendations part of this document has eight main sections that cover aspects of the 
treatment of drug-resistant TB. The aspects covered
are:
• 
the treatment of rifampicin-susceptible and isoniazid-resistant TB (
Section
 
1
);
• 
shorter all-oral bedaquiline-containing regimens for MDR/RR-TB (
Section
 
2
);
• 
the composition and duration of longer regimens for MDR/RR-TB (
Section
 
3
);
• 
the bedaquiline, pretomanid and linezolid (BPaL) regimen for MDR-TB with additional fluoroquinolone 
resistance (
Section
 
4
);
• 
monitoring of the patient response to MDR-TB treatment (
Section
 
5
);
• 
the use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for people living with HIV infection (
Section
 
6
);
• 
the role of surgery for patients on MDR-TB treatment (
Section 7
); and
• 
the vital role of care and support for patients with MDR/RR-TB (
Section 8
). 
Each section starts with the current WHO recommendations for that aspect, then gives information 
on the evidence used to inform that recommendation, a summary of the analyses that were carried 
out based on the evidence, considerations for specific subgroups, and considerations for monitoring 
and evaluation and implementation. Research gaps identified for each of the sections are presented at 
the end of this document, while online annexes provide more details on the methods, the Guideline 
Development Groups (GDGs), the analyses, unpublished data and statistical analysis plans. Each 
section reflects discussions held at GDG meetings over recent years. Additional information on the 
management of MDR/RR-TB is presented in the relevant chapter of the WHO operational handbook 
on tuberculosis, a separate document that is designed to aid implementation efforts. Eventually, 

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Introduction
2
the operational handbook will replace the Companion handbook to the WHO guidelines for the 
programmatic management of drug-resistant tuberculosis (2).