Consolidated Guidelines

For several decades the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed and issued recommendations on the treatment of tuberculosis (TB). The recent WHO recommendations for treating people affected by drug-susceptible TB (DS-TB) have been defined in WHO’s Guidelines for treatment of drug-susceptible tuberculosis and patient care, 2010 and 2017 updates (1, 2). These guidelines focused on the 6-month treatment regimen composed of four first-line TB medicines – isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol and pyrazinamide – recommended for the treatment of DS-TB.

The Global Programme on Tuberculosis & Lung Health of the World Health Organization (WHO/GTB) is now combining all current recommendations into one overall set of consolidated guidelines on TB. The guidelines contain recommendations pertaining to all areas related to the programmatic management of TB (e.g. screening, preventive treatment, diagnostics, patient support, and the treatment of drug-susceptible TB and DR-TB). The consolidated guidelines contain modules specific to each programmatic area.

Bacteriologically confirmed: when a biological specimen is positive by smear microscopy, culture or a rapid diagnostic test for tuberculosis (TB) recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Clinically diagnosed: when a person who does not fulfil the criteria for bacteriological confirmation has been diagnosed with TB disease by a medical practitioner who has decided to give the person a full course of TB treatment.

The recommendations and remarks in this consolidated document are the result of collaborative efforts of professionals from a range of specialties who have extensive expertise and experience in public health policy, tuberculosis (TB) programme management, treatment and care of patients with drug-susceptible TB (DS-TB) and drug-resistant TB (DR-TB). The recommendations herein have been developed through several meetings of the Guideline Development Group (GDG) and have then been consolidated in the present document.