Now is the time for shorter all-oral regimens for multidrug-resistant TB

The newly revised WHO guidelines for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis treatment includes major changes from the previous version, published in 2016. Notably, drugs such as bedaquiline, linezolid, and clofazimine are now strongly recommended for the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. At the same time, older drugs, such as injectables, ethionamide, and para-aminosalicyclic acid, have been downgraded due to poor effectiveness and side-effect profiles. These new recommendations, if implemented, are expected to have a huge impact globally, increasing access of patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis to more effective and safer drug regimens that avoid debilitating side-effects, such as permanent hearing loss.