Abstract

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be one of the world's most mortal infectious disease even in the 21st century. Multiple Drug Resistant TB (MDRTB) is still a serious health care problem, especially in developing countries. It was aimed to evaluate the susceptibility rates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) strains to first-line antituberculosis drugs. Methodology: MTC isolates obtained from clinical specimens sent to Dicle University Hospital Mycobacteriology laboratory from January 2012 to December 2015 were evaluated retrospectively. First culture-positive samples of the same patients were evaluated. BACTEC MGIT 960 TB (Becton Dickinson, USA) system was used for sensitivity testing of first-line anti-TB drugs; streptomycin (S), isoniazid (INH), rifampicin (RIF) and ethambutol (ETM). Results: Overall 10993 clinical specimens were evaluated over a period of four years. A total of 415 MTC strains were isolated and susceptibility testing was carried out. Samples consisted of 341 (82,2%) pulmonary and 74 (17,8%) extra-pulmonary materials. Among 341 pulmonary isolates, 204 (59,8%) were Ziehl-Neelsen (Z-N) positive. Of 74 extra-pulmonary isolates, 31(41,9%) were Z-N positive. A total of 130 (31,3%) isolates were resistant to at least one anti TB drug. Single drug resistance was detected in 82 isolates (19,8%). Twenty one isolates (5,1%) were determined as multi-drug resistant (MDR). Ten (2,4%) isolates were resistant to all four drugs. Conclusion: Our study indicated that drug resistance rates of our hospital are consistent with the average rates of Turkey. Evaluation of regional antituberculosis drug resistance along with rapid and accurate diagnosis would contribute to tuberculosis control programs.