Progress in researches on status and impact factors of survival and mortality in patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis

Recent wide spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis is a big challenge to the world. The patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis/extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB/XDR-TB) discontinue the treatment frequently due to long-term duration, expensive cost and side effect of the treatment, which results in increased loss to follow-up. Studies on MDR-TB survival and hazard factors of MDR-TB are aimed to control risk factors and to contribute evidences of effective strategy for improving survival among MDR-TB patients. Studies have estimated a median survival of 1.54 – 6.0 years for XDR-TB patients and the survival of the patients in developing countries was lower than those in developed countries; the median survival is 3.78 – 9.70 years for MDR-TB patients, which is slightly higher than that of XDR-TB patients. Delayed treatment, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, age, lifestyle and behavior, complications, nutritional status, and type of resistance are strongly associated with mortality among drug-resistant tuberculosis patients. Studies on prevention and control of MDR-TB in the future need to be promoted for developing effective interventions on the survival of the patients.