A five-year review of prevalence and treatment outcomes of pre-extensively drug-resistant plus additional drug-resistant tuberculosis in the Henan Provincial Tuberculosis Clinical Medicine Research Centre

This study investigated the prevalence and significant clinical outcomes of pre-extensively drug-resistant plus additional drug-resistant tuberculosis (pre-XDR-plus) in Henan Provincial Chest Hospital between 2017 and 2021. We analysed and summarized the drug sensitivity test (DST) results of clinical Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) strains in TB patients seeking care in the Tuberculosis Clinical Medical Research Centre of Henan Province between 2017 and 2021. Medical records of pre-extensively drug-resistant plus additional drug-resistant TB patients were statistically analysed, including demographic characteristics, regimens, and outcomes. Of the 3689 Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains, 639 (17.32%), 353 (9.56%), and 109 (2.95%), multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), pre-extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (pre-XDR), and pre-XDR-plus, respectively. The proportion of MDR decreased from 19.1% in 2017 to 17.5% in 2021 (χ2 = 0.686, P = 0.407), the proportion of pre-XDR from 11.4% in 2017 to 9.0% in 2021 (χ2 = 2.39, P = 0.122), and pre-XDR-plus from 4.7% in 2017 to 1.8% in 2020, with the declining trend was significant (χ2 = 9.348, P = 0.002). The most commonly used anti-TB drugs were pyrazinamide (PZA, 37/46, 80.43%) and cycloserine (CS, 32/46, 69.57%), followed by linezolid (LZD, 25/46, 54.35%), protionamide (TH, 25/46, 54.35%), and para-aminosalicylic acid (PAS, 23/46, 50.00%). Patients receiving the LZD regimen were 5 times more likely to have a favourable outcome than those not receiving LZD (OR = 6.421, 95% CI 2.101–19.625, P = 0.001). Patients receiving a regimen containing CS were 4 times more likely to have a favourable outcome compared to those not taking CS (OR = 5.444, 95% CI 1.650–17.926, P = 0.005). Our data suggest that the population of pre-XDR-plus had significantly decreased over the past five years in the Henan Provincial Chest Hospital. The COVID-19 and flood disaster affect TB patients’ selection of medical services. In addition, the pre-XDR-plus patients whose regimens contain LZD or CS were more likely to have favourable outcomes.