Abstract

Resistance to drugs used to treat tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem that threatens progress made in TB management and control worldwide.1 It may result from improper use of antibiotics, including prescription of non-standard treatment regimens and poor adherence to drug therapy. Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) is defined as resistance to isoniazid and rifampicin, with or without resistance to other first-line drugs. Extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) refers to resistance to at least isoniazid and rifampicin, and to any fluoroquinolone, and to any of the three second-line injectables  (amikacin, capreomycin and kanamycin†).2 In 2012, DTB discussed the investigation, management and treatment of patients with MDR- and XDR-TB.3 Earlier this year, ▼bedaquiline (Sirturo) and ▼delamanid (Deltyba) were authorised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) under its ‘conditional market authorisation’ scheme for use as part of an appropriate combination regimen for pulmonary MDR-TB in adult patients “when an effective treatment regimen cannot otherwise be composed for reasons of resistance or tolerability.”4,5 In this article, we review the evidence for bedaquiline in the management of MDR-TB.