Treatment of tuberculosis

Overview

Major progress in global tuberculosis (TB) control followed the widespread implementation of the DOTS strategy. The Stop TB Strategy, launched in 2006, builds upon and enhances the achievements of DOTS. New objectives include universal access to patient-centred treatment and protection of populations from TB/HIV and multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). The Stop TB Strategy and the Global Plan to implement the new strategy make it necessary to revise the third edition of Treatment of tuberculosis: guidelines for national programmes, published in 2003.

Creation of the fourth edition follows new WHO procedures for guidelines development. With input from a group of external experts – the Guidelines Group – WHO identified seven key questions, and systematic reviews were conducted for each question. The Guidelines Group based its recommendations on the quality of the evidence (assessed according to the GRADE methodology), patient values, and costs, as well judgements about trade-offs between benefits and harms. Recommendations were rated as “strong” or “conditional”.

Russian version