A systematic review on extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis from 2009 to 2020: special emphases on treatment outcomes

OBJECTIVES: Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDRTB) has raised a great threat to human health globally, especially in developing countries. The objective of the present study is to collate and contrast the proportions of treatment outcome in the previously published XDR-TB articles. MATERIAL AND METHODS: By considering inclusion criteria and search engines, a total of 22 articles were enrolled. RESULTS: Our findings revealed that the overall favorable treatment outcome was 24.04%. From the cohort of enrolled studies 19.76% (397) and 43.35% (871) patients were cured and died respectively. In 90.9% of enrolled articles, the investigators performed drug-susceptibility testing at the baseline. The overall treatment outcome was improved by the use of new drugs (linezolid, bedaquiline, ciprofloxacin, clofazimine) in the treatment regimen of XDR-TB showing linezolid and bedaquiline better results i.e. 59.44 and 78.88%, respectively. Moreover, use of antiretroviral treatment in XDR-TB patients with HIV infection have not shown any significant difference in the treatment outcome. CONCLUSIONS: XDR-TB treatment success can be achieved by implying standardized definitions, upgraded diagnostic procedures, and novel drugs.