Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics of the Study Participants According to Treatment Group.*
| Characteristic | Immediate-Start Group (N = 19) |
Delayed-Start Group (N = 20) |
Total (N = 39) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age — yr | |||
| Mean | 42.1 | 40.4 | 41.2 |
| Range | 20–64 | 23–63 | 20–64 |
| Male sex — no. (%) | 12 (63) | 16 (80) | 28 (72) |
| Body-mass index† | |||
| Mean | 19.6 | 20.5 | 20.0 |
| Range | 14.9–25.7 | 14.4–28.1 | 14.4–28.1 |
| Diabetes mellitus — no. (%) | 7 (37) | 7 (35) | 14 (36) |
| BCG vaccination scar — no. (%) | 14 (74) | 17 (85) | 31 (79) |
| Radiographic findings — no. (%) | |||
| Far advanced tuberculosis‡ | 15 (79) | 15 (75) | 30 (77) |
| Cavitary tuberculosis | 9 (47) | 8 (40) | 17 (44) |
| Bilateral lesions | 18 (95) | 20 (100) | 38 (97) |
| No. of previous treatment episodes for tuberculosis | |||
| Median | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Interquartile range | 3.0–8.5 | 4.0–7.0 | 3.0–7.3 |
| No. of resistant drugs§ | |||
| Mean | 11.6 | 10.4 | 11.0 |
| Range | 8–15 | 6–14 | 6–15 |
There were no significant between-group differences. BCG denotes bacille Calmette–Guérin.
The body-mass index is the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters.
Far advanced tuberculosis was defined according to the guidelines of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention26 as the presence of disseminated lesions of slight-to-moderate density exceeding the total volume of one lung, or dense and confluent lesions exceeding one third the volume of one lung, or the presence of cavities greater than 4 cm in diameter.
Drug-susceptibility testing for 15 drugs was performed: isoniazid, para-aminosalicylic acid, streptomycin, ethambutol, rifampin, protionamide, cycloserine, kanamycin, amikacin, ofloxacin, levofloxacin, pyrazinamide, rifabutin, moxifloxacin, and capreomycin.