Table 1.
Treatment outcome definitions*
| Treatment outcome | Definitions |
|---|---|
| Cure | Cure was defined as completion of treatment and >5 consecutive negative culture results in the final 12 months of treatment. A patient was still considered cured If only one positive culture was reported during this time, was clinically well, and this positive culture was followed by at least 3 consecutive negative cultures taken at least 30 days apart. |
| Treatment completion |
Treatment completion referred to completion of therapy but without bacteriologic documentation of cure. |
| Treatment success | Treatment success has been defined as the percentage of patients in whom the treatment outcome was either cured or completed. That is, “% successful = no. of patients cured + no. of patients completed treatment /Total no. initiated treatment × 100”. |
| Treatment failure | Treatment failure was defined as having more than one positive culture in the final 12 months of therapy, or if any one of the final three cultures was positive, or if more than one drug in the treatment regimen was replaced, or if treatment was terminated due to adverse events or no clinical improvement. |
| Default | Default was defined as an interruption in treatment for ≥ 2 consecutive months for any reason. |
| Death | Death was defined as all-cause mortality during MDR-TB treatment. |
| Unsuccessful treatment |
Unsuccessful treatment outcome has been defined as the percentage of patients in whom the treatment outcome was died, defaulted, or failed treatment. |
| Transferred out | A patient with MDR-TB who was transferred to another reporting and recording unit a year after study- enrolment whose treatment outcome is unknown. |