Korean Guidelines for the Treatment of Tuberculosis

결핵의 치료지침

Tuberculosis (TB) is prevalent and remains a major public health problem in South Korea. Joint committee for the development of Korean guidelines for TB has published a guideline for the treatment of TB recently. The aim of this guideline is to provide evidence based practical recommendations to clinicians caring TB patients in South Korea. Treatment regimen for the newly diagnosed TB is divided into 2 months of initial intensive phase (isoniazid, rifampin, ethambutol, pyrazinamide) followed by 4 months of maintenance phase (isoniazid, rifampin, ethambutol). Ethambutol may be dropped from the regimen after 2 months of treatment if bacilli is susceptible to isoniazid and rifampin (2HREZ/4HR). Because stopping medical treatment by the patient is most serious problem in the treatment of TB, this guideline emphasizes education and supervision of the patients to ensure patient's adherence to taking medicines.