Clinical outcomes for multi- and extensively drug resistant tuberculosis patients with adjunctive resectional lung surgery in Beijing, China

The objective of this study was to assess the performance of adjective resectional lung surgery for multidrug resistant (MDR-) and extensively drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) patients in Beijing, China. Between October 1992 and October 2012, 21 MDR/XDR patients undergoing pulmonary resection at Beijing Chest Hospital were enrolled in this study. The clinical outcomes of MDR- and XDR-TB patients were analyzed with a 3-year surgical follow-up. Out of 21 patients enrolled in this study, 20 patients (95.2%) had unilateral cavitary disease, and 1 patient (4.8%) exhibited bilateral cavitary disease. The most frequent cavitation was located in the left upper lung (38.1%, 8/21). In addition, 19 (90.5%) underwent lobectomy, and the other two (9.5%) underwent pneumonectomy due to obvious cavitation in both upper and lower fields of unilateral lung. After 3-year follow-up, eight patients (38.1%) were cured and 13 patients (61.9%) suffered from unfavorable outcomes. Of 13 patients with unfavorable outcomes, 5 patients (38.5%) died of further progression of TB disease, and 8 patients (61.5%) relapsed. Only 1 (14.3%) out of 7 XDR-TB patients was cured, compared with 7 (50.0%) out of 14 multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) patients. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that if available, surgical treatment should be considered in MDR/XDR-TB patients in China. The subsequent treatment with second-line drugs may play the most important role in determining the final clinical outcome for MDR/XDR-TB patients.