Drug resistance in tuberculosis compared between resident and migrant patients

Objective To determine the difference in drug resistance of M.tuberculosis(TB) between resident TB cases and migrant TB cases on data from Putuo Central Hospital. Methods There were 598 migrants and 600 residents included and the latter were as control group.Proportional method with Lwenstein-Jensen culture medium was used for susceptibility test on 4 antituberculosis drugs. Results Total drug resistance rate in 598 smear-positive migrant TB cases was 28.3%,of which the rates of first treated and re-treated patients were 19.6% and 48.5% respectively,and the total cure rate was 84.6%.Total drug resistance rate in 600 smear-positive resident TB cases was 23.2%,of which the rates of first treated and re-treated patients were 15% and 41.3% respectively,and the total cure rate was 87.0%.There was no significant difference in total drug resistance rates between the two groups.The drug resistance in migrant TB cases,both male or female,was higher than that in resident TB cases.The drug-fast cases in initial treatment among residents and migrants were both mainly single drug fast cases,while most of those in re-treatment were nearly multitude drug fast cases.Most of the drug fast cases in migrants were youths,while most of those in residents were old men. Conclusion The rates of drug resistance were found to be high in both migrant and resident TB cases.So up-to-date TB control program must be implemented continuously to decrease the occurrence of drug resistance in tuberculosis.