WHO publishes updated guidelines on treatment of DS-TB

On 24 May 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) published updated consolidated guidelines on treatment of drug-susceptible tuberculosis (DS-TB). The guidelines include a new recommendation for the use of a four-month regimen composed of isoniazid, rifapentine, moxifloxacin and pyrazinamide for the treatment and care of DS-TB, with the shorter and effective new regimen reportedly offering improved quality of life for people with TB. 

The guidelines incorporate all recommendations on the treatment of DS-TB including the standard six-month regimen. The guidelines are complemented by an operational handbook which is designed to assist the implementation of WHO recommendations by member states, technical partners and others who are involved in the management of patients with DS-TB. The handbook provides practical guidance on how to put in place the recommended treatment options at the scale needed to achieve national and global impact, and further provides practical information and tools that complement the recommendations in the guidelines. 

The operational handbook is accompanied with two web annexes, summarizing the results of a series of systematic reviews on dosages of the TB medicines, with the WHO-recommended doses for these medicines remaining valid in adults and children. 

The updated guidelines and supporting operational handbook are to be used by national TB programmes, or their equivalents in Ministries of Health, and by policy makers and technical organizations working on TB and infectious diseases in public and private sectors, and in the community. These documents are to facilitate uptake of WHO policy in the field and thus improve the quality of TB services. 

Source: WHO, 24 May 2022