Original Research

Multidrug Resistant Tuberculosis: Difficulties Faced DuringTreatment

Haris Saeed1
Combined Military Hospital Lahore Medical College and Institute of Dentistry, Lahore, Pakistan
Asif Hanif2
King Edward Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan
Muhammad Kashif Munir3
National Institute of Health TB Research Centre, Lahore, Pakistan

✉ Correspondence: Haris Saeed Email: harissaeed15@gmail.com

DOI https://doi.org/10.70302/jpsim.v6i3.2545
Volume: 6, Issue 3 Pages: 245–249 Published: 23 Aug 2025
Received: 04 Jan 2025 Revised: 08 Feb 2025 Accepted: 23 Jul 2025 Published Online: 23 Aug 2025

Abstract

Objective

Present study was undertaken to observe the personal, social and environmental difficulties of MDR TB patients during treatment on a programmatic management of drug resistant TB site.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was undertaken at PHRC TB Research Laboratory and PMDT site, King Edward Medical University/Mayo Hospital, Lahore, from January 1st to May 31st, 2021. Confirmed MDR-TB patients seeking treatment were included in this study after taking informed consent. Pre-designed proforma containing information about demography, socio-economic status, transportation issues, attitude of healthcare staff, social stigma, provision of support from PMDT site and side effects of treatment was used for data collection. Data was entered and analysed in statistical package for social science (SPSS) software.

Results

A total of 100 MDR-TB patients taking treatment from Programmatic Management of Drug-Resistant Site (PMDT) were interviewed that included 42% males and 58% females. Patients had to travel an average distance of 45.4±42.2 km with a range of 2-215 km to reach the PMDT site. Patients had to spend a mean amount of 818±1206 rupees to reach the hospital and spend about 400±150 rupees to take meals during traveling. Attitude problems from household and in laws were also observed among 13% patients most of which (10%) were females. Joint pain was the most dominant adverse drug effect and was reported by 48% respondents, followed by nausea 46%, weakness 36%, irritability 28% and vision problems in 15% of the patients.

Conclusion

Problems of MDR-TB patients include long travelling distances, insufficient financial support and troublesome side effects of second line anti TB drugs. In addition to these, misbehaviour and neglect from the spouse and in laws, belief in religious and spiritual treatments, exploitation by homeopaths, hakims and quacks are other issues that must be focused on and addressed properly.

Keywords
Multidrug resistant TB Problems Side Effects Incidence.

How to Cite This Article

Saeed H, Hanif A, Munir MK. Multidrug Resistant Tuberculosis: Difficulties Faced DuringTreatment. J Pak Soc Intern Med. 2025;6(3):245–249. doi:10.70302/jpsim.v6i3.2545

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Conflict of Interest

All authors declare no competing interests.

Disclosed in accordance with ICMJE and COPE guidelines.

Funding

No specific funding was received for this research.

Funder information follows the Crossref Funder Registry standard.

References

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CC BY CC BY 4.0 This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. May be shared and adapted with attribution. © 2025 Journal of Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine.
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