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Background: Programmatic management of MDR-TB has taken over the un-standardized and unsupervised treatment practice in India. However, despite being implemented in whole of country, the data on the program surveillance is scarce.  Hence the present study was sought to evaluate the treatment outcome in patients with MDR TB in Chandigarh being treated under programmatic conditions.Methods: A retrospective study was carried out by enrolling all MDR-TB patients registered between January 2012 to December 2014. Medical records of 140 patients were scrutinized for necessary information on demographic, clinical parameters and previous TB treatment. Treatment outcomes to Cat IV anti-TB therapy, any interruptions in treatment, adverse drug reactions, culture conversion etc. were evaluated from the records.Results: Of the 140 patients, 77 (55%) were declared cured, 11 (7.9%) completed treatment, 23 patients (16.4%) died, 13 (9.3%) defaulted on treatment, 5 (3.6%) had treatment failure and 11 (7.9%) were shifted to Cat V therapy. On comparison, BMI, haemoglobin, treatment outcome in previous ATT, treatment adherence and time to sputum culture conversion were significantly different in different treatment outcome groups.Conclusions: The treatment success rate of MDR‑TB patients have shown improvement under programmatic conditions. Interventions to improve BMI and treatment adherence might further help to improve the success rate.

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Background. Current multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) management is associated with significant mortality which is deterrent for effective TB control worldwide. Knowledge of risk factors that predict mortality in MDR-TB is required to formulate measures to improve treatment outcomes. There is lack of data on the independent predictive factors of mortality among Indian patients being treated under programmatic conditions.Objectives. To evaluate factors predicting mortality in MDR-TB patients being treated under programmatic management of drug-resistant tuberculosis.Methods. Medical records of all MDR-TB patients who were initiated on Category IV anti-TB regimen between January 2012 and December 2014 and had declared outcome were retrospectively analysed. Information on different demographic, clinical and treatment (past and present) related parameters was retrieved. Relevant factors were analysed for their possible association with mortality using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis.Results. Out of total 278 patients, 61 (21.9%) died during two years of their treatment duration. The median time to death was seven months. Out of 61, 40 patients (65.5%) died during the first nine months of their treatment. On multivariate Cox regression analysis, high age, low body mass index, previous anti-TB treatment, low serum albumin levels and presence of adverse drug reactions during MDR-TB treatment were found as independent factors predicting mortality (p<0.05).Conclusions. Mortality in MDR-TB is associated with certain modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors. Appropriate knowledge and timely intervention to manage these, especially the nutritional status, may help to decrease the mortality associated with MDR-TB.