MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective record review was carried out, utilising secondary data obtained from the TB registry of Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur. All registered DR-TB cases between 2016 and 2020 that met the study criteria were analysed descriptively using SPSS software version 27.
RESULTS: Of 443 cases of registered DR-TB over 5 years, 430 cases fulfilled the study criteria. The prevalence of DR-TB increased from 0.27 to 1.79 per 100,000 population between 2016 and 2020. The average age was 40.96 years, majority were males (70.7%), Malaysian (79.3%), with Malays comprising 50.2%. Most patients had up to secondary school education (51.9%), married (57.0%), employed (53.3%) and 34.9% were smokers. For clinical characteristics, 23.5% had diabetes, and 10.9% were HIVpositive. Retreatment cases accounted for half the total, and 83.9% had positive smear results. Minimal chest X-ray lesions were observed in 54.4% of cases. The majority (66.7%) received supervised treatment from healthcare providers after being diagnosed with DR-TB, and 37.4% had more than one anti-TB resistance. Favourable treatment outcomes were observed in 56.7% of cases, while 42.1% had unfavourable outcomes, mainly due to loss to follow-up (49.7%), death (42.6%) and treatment failure (7.7%).
CONCLUSION: The rising cases of DR-TB call for comprehensive public health interventions and stakeholder commitment to reduce its occurrence and transmission. These findings provide valuable guidance for policymakers in strengthening DR-TB control and prevention strategies.