22 T.B. and Chemotherapy Drug therapy, first introduced in the 1940s, is the main treatment for tuberculosis. For active tuberculosis cases, doctors usuall prescribe at least two drugs given concurrently. Two drugs are used because treatment with only one drug can breed resistant strains of M. tuberculosis . Before the discovery of this technique, a majority of patients relapsed following treatment with a single drug. 24 Extrapulmonary tuberculosis, or tuberculosis that affects organs other than the lungs, is usually treated with the same regimen as pulmonary tuberculosis.
Children receive similar treament but with two exceptions.
First, dosages must be adjusted for weight and age. Second, ethambutol, a drug which can damage the optic nerve that controls vision, is usually not given to very young children because of the difficulty of administering eye examinations to young children. Drug resistance has become more and more of a problem in treating tuberculosis. 2 Treatment of TB strains that are resistant to only one agent is accomplished fairly easily by turning to other first line agents. As better treatments have been developed for HIV patients, however, the outlook for those with both HIV and MDR-TB has also improved.