8.2.1 Tuberculosis drugs
Each TB drug has an abbreviation.
Table 8.1 – Categories and abbreviations of TB drugs
Categories | TB drugs | Abbreviations |
|---|---|---|
| Drug-susceptible TB (first-line drugs) | ||
Isoniazid (standard dose) Rifampicin Pyrazinamide Ethambutol Rifabutin Rifapentine | H R Z E Rfb P | |
| Drug-resistant TB (second-line drugs) | ||
Group A | Levofloxacin or moxifloxacin Bedaquiline Linezolid | Lfx or Mfx Bdq Lzd |
Group B | Clofazimine Cycloserine or terizidone | Cfz Cs or Trd |
Group C
| Delamanid Ethambutol Pyrazinamide Imipenem/cilastatin or meropenem Amikacin or streptomycin Ethionamide or prothionamide Para-aminosalicylate sodium or para-aminosalicylic acid Isoniazid (high-dose) | Dlm E Z Ipm/Cln or Mpm Am or S Eto or Pto PAS Hh |
| Ungrouped | Pretomanid | Pa |
Notes:
- High-dose isoniazid, although not a Group C drug according to the WHO classification, is considered in this guide as a Group C drug as it is used as such when building a treatment regimen for DR-TB.
- Pretomanid is not categorized in the WHO classification and is only used in standard regimens for DR-TB (Chapter 10).
8.2.2 Treatment regimens
TB treatment regimens are expressed as follows:
- Drugs are designated by their abbreviation.
- For some regimens, the treatment is divided into two phases: intensive phase, and continuation phase. The phases are separated by a slash /.
- Letters in brackets ( ) indicate fixed-dose combinations (FDCs).
- Letters that are not in brackets indicate individual drugs.
- Second-line drugs are separated by a hyphen.
- Letters in square brackets [ ] indicate that drugs are used, but not considered as likely effective (Chapter 10).
- A superscript h (h) indicates that the drug is administered in a high dose.
- Numbers before letters indicate the duration (in months) of the treatment or of each phase.
2(HRZE)/4(HR): the intensive phase lasts 2 months with an FDC containing 4 drugs; the continuation phase lasts 4 months, with an FDC containing 2 drugs.
18Bdq-Lzd-Cfz-Cs-Dlm-[Mfxh]: the treatment lasts 18 months with 6 individual drugs; high dose moxifloxacin is used, but not counted as a likely effective drug. |