Tuberculosis is the most prevalent infectious disease worldwide and a leading killer caused by a single infectious agent, that is, Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Antitubercular Agents
INTRODUCTION
Tuberculosis
is the most prevalent infectious disease worldwide and a leading killer caused
by a single infectious agent, that is, Mycobacterium
tuberculosis. According to World Health Organization (WHO) report, M. tuberculosis, currently infects over
2 billion people worldwide, with 30 million new cases reported every year. This
intracellular infection accounts for at least 3 million deaths annually. Common
infection sites of the tuberculosis are lungs (primary site), brain, bone,
liver, and kidney. The main symptoms are cough, tachycardia, cyanosis, and
respiratory failure. Depending upon the site of infection, the disease can be
categorized as follows:
·Pulmonary tuberculosis (respiratory tract).
·Genitourinary tuberculosis (genitourinary
tract).
·Tuberculous meningitis (nervous system).
·Miliary tuberculosis (a widespread infection).
Drugs used
in the treatment of tuberculosis can be divided into two major categories (Fig.
4.1):
1. First-line
drugs: Isoniazid, streptomycin, rifampicin, ethambutol, and pyrazinamide.
2. Second-line
drugs: Ethionamide, p-amino salicylic
acid, ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, cycloserine, amikacin, kanamycin, viomycin, and
capreomycin.
The majority
of the patients with tuberculosis are treated with first-line drugs and shows
excellent results with a 6-month course of treatment. For the first 2 months,
isoniazid, rifampicin, and pyrazinamide are given, followed by isoniazid and
rifampicin for the remaining 4 months. Second-line drugs are used mainly to
treat multidrug resistant M. tuberculosis
infections.
TH 2019 - 2026 pharmacy180.com; Developed by Therithal info.