Describe the standard drug regiment of tuberculosis and discuss why it is necessary to treat tuberculosis with 3 drugs at the same time. What would happen if the patient only receives one drug at a time? What other precautions would you suggest for patients who have an active TB infection?
The standard drug regimen for tuberculosis includes combination of four drugs isoniazid, rifampin, pyrazinamide, and either ethambutol or streptomycin. Once the TB isolate is known to be fully susceptible, ethambutol or streptomycin can be discontinued.
It is necessary to treat tuberculosis with 3 drugs at a time to reduce the development of resistance in tuberculosis bacteria against the antibiotics as bacteria is less likely to have resistance to multiple drugs simultaneously. If the patient ony receives one drug at a time may lead to the development of a bacterial resistant to that drug.
Precaution: Tuberculosis is an air borne infectious disease therefore TB patients should covering the mouth and nose when coughing. Patients sould dispose the sputum properly.
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