Microbiological response and treatment outcomes among multidrug-resistant tuberculosis patients at Allied Hospital, Faisalabad, Pakistan: A prospective cohort study

Research article | https://doi.org/10.47262/BL/12.1.20260220

Muhammad Sohail Hanif¹*, Muhammad Faizan Munawer², Naeem Wajid¹, Ali Haider¹, Munazzah Marryum²

¹Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Rehabilitation & Allied Health Sciences, Riphah International University, Faisalabad Campus, Pakistan

²State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China

Abstract

Despite being a long-term disease, treatment success and increasing antimicrobial resistance, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) continues to pose a significant public health threat, especially in low-resource countries. The present study aimed to assess the microbiological outcome and the treatment efficacy of MDR-TB patients in Allied Hospital, Faisalabad, Pakistan, with special regard to sputum culture conversion. A prospective cohort study was conducted at Allied Hospital in Faisalabad, Pakistan, from February 2025 to August 2025 at the MDR-TB Unit. The sample was obtained using a non-probability consecutive sampling technique, and 100 confirmed adult patients of MDR-TB were enrolled and followed throughout the treatment. Demographic and clinical data were collected at baseline; microbiological response was monitored by culture on Lowenstein-Jensen medium from sputum samples taken at regular intervals. The data were then processed with descriptive statistics with the help of SPSS software version 26.0. Of the patients enrolled, 62% were male, and 72% had a previous TB treatment history. Sputum culture conversion was seen in 32% of patients in the first two months, 41% from three to four months, 17% from five to six months, and 10% after six months. Overall, 48% of patients were cured, 27% completed treatment, 15% failed treatment, and 10% died. Sputum culture conversion was seen to be associated with a favorable outcome of treatment, with delayed culture conversion seen to be more associated with treatment failure and death. These findings indicate that regular microbiological monitoring could help to timely assess treatment response and provide better clinical management for MDR-TB. The results obtained should be confirmed by further multicenter studies with larger numbers of patients.