Update of WHO guidelines on the programmatic management of drug-resistant TB

World Health Organization
Aug. 8, 2019, 2:03 a.m.
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End-users (i.e. policy makers; health professionals, including doctors, nurses and educators working in governmental and non-governmental organizations; TB patients) interested in providing comments on the scope of this guideline update are invited to submit their feedback.

8 August 2019 | Geneva - Drug-resistant TB continues to pose formidable challenges due to the complexity of effective treatment regimens in cases with more advanced resistance patterns such as multidrug-/rifampicin-resistant TB (MDR/RR-TB), and in the context of the emergence of extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB). In an effort to address these challenges and support countries in their response to this global epidemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) has produced guidelines to provide evidence-based recommendations on the programmatic management and care of drug-resistant TB.

The latest evidence-based guidelines for the treatment of MDR/RR-TB were published by WHO in 2018 in accordance with the WHO processes and procedures for guideline development, which were later disseminated as the consolidated WHO guidelines on drug-resistant tuberculosis treatment. Since their release, new evidence in specific areas has become available, encouraging Member States and key stakeholders to share these data on new developments and innovations, and prompting WHO to update its guidelines on drug-resistant TB treatment, complementing earlier recommendations (See Box below).

New evidence is available on:
  • All-oral shorter regimens for MDR/RR-TB
  • Use of bedaquiline longer than six months duration for MDR/RR-TB
  • Concurrent use of bedaquiline and delamanid for MDR/RR-TB
  • Use of bedaquiline, pretomanid and linezolid in combination for patients with XDR-TB

As part of WHO transformation agenda, and focusing on efforts to embrace the use of new technologies and innovations in health, processes for public engagement in WHO normative work are being developed. Further, in the interest of transparency regarding the ongoing development of guidelines, WHO wishes to organize this exceptional public comment process to share details about the preparatory work ahead of the update of the WHO drug-resistant TB guidelines, and seek comments on the scope of this work.

A Guideline Development Group is being convened by WHO to finalize the scope and key research questions of this guideline update on the above-mentioned areas, and evaluate and discuss the evidence to inform the development and formulation of recommendations in late 2019.

End-users (i.e. policy makers; health professionals, including doctors, nurses and educators working in governmental and non-governmental organizations; TB patients) interested in providing comments on the scope of this guideline update are invited to submit their feedback by registering here using a valid e-mail address.

All comments submitted through this exceptional process will be collected and consolidated by the WHO Guideline Steering Group and presented to the Guideline Development Group to inform its proceedings and deliberations. By submitting your comments, you confirm that you understand that your name, affiliation and feedback will be shared with the Guideline Development Group convened by WHO.

You can submit your comments through this platform from 8-20 August 2019, 18:00 CEST.


Source: WHO