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DR-TB Treatment Initiations

References in the content below refer to the PBMEF Guide.

Definitions

Number of people with laboratory-confirmed or clinically diagnosed drug-resistant (DR) TB (rifampicin-resistant [RR] and multidrug-resistant [MDR] TB and pre-extensively drug-resistant [pre-XDR] and extensively drug-resistant [XDR] TB) who initiated treatment for DR-TB during the reporting period.

RR/MDR TB: RR-TB is TB caused by Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) strains that are resistant to rifampicin; MDR-TB strains are resistant to at least both rifampicin and isoniazid.

Pre-XDR/XDR-TB: XDR-TB is caused by a strain of M. tuberculosis complex that is resistant to rifampicin (and may also be resistant to isoniazid), and that is also resistant to at least one fluoroquinolone (levofloxacin or moxifloxacin) and to at least one other “Group A” drug (bedaquiline or linezolid); pre-XDR-TB meets these qualifications but is resistant to a fluoroquinolone or a “Group A” drug, but not both

Numerator

Number of people with laboratory-confirmed or clinically diagnosed DR-TB (RR/MDR-TB and pre-XDR/XDR-TB) who initiated treatment for DR-TB during the reporting period.

Denominator

N/A
Ref #
TX_DR_ENROLL
(Previously RN-4)
Tier Level
Core Plus Indicator
Category
Cure
Type
Outcome
Unit of Measure
Number of people
Data Type
Integer
Disaggregations
Age (<15, 15+)
Sex
HIV Status
Reporting Level
All Core Plus indicators should be reported at the national level; data may also be collected subnationally for more granular monitoring.
Reporting Frequency
This indicator should be reported on a semiannual basis at a minimum. More frequent monitoring on a quarterly or monthly basis is recommended.

The data sources are basic management unit TB register, RR/MDR-TB register and electronic management information systems at the health facility and district levels. This standard World Health Organization (WHO) indicator can also be calculated using the WHO Global TB Programme database variables: unconf_rr_nfqr_tx plus conf_rr_nfqr_tx plus conf_rr_fqr_tx

This indicator on initiation of people with DR-TB on treatment measures a TB program’s ability to ensure people diagnosed with DR-TB are linked to care and started on appropriate second-line drug (SLD) regimens. This is a very important measure of the effectiveness of the NTP in terms of improving access to DR-TB treatment and improving quality of patient care. 

This indicator measures the gap between the number diagnosed with DR-TB and the subset of those diagnosed who are initiated on DR-TB treatment. This gap is a critical measure of TB programs.

The data are valuable for planning SLD procurement and prioritizing supervision. The indicator provides data for a critical step in cascade analysis for DR-TB and treatment.

This indicator can be used to track performance of the NTP in initiating people diagnosed with DR-TB on second-line treatment. It is important for guiding programmatic decisions on scale up of treatment services for management of DR-TB. It can be presented and visualized using tables, charts, line graphs, etc.

This indicator can be compared to the DR-TB treatment cohort size, which is the denominator for all the DR-TB treatment outcomes (i.e. treatment success, lost-to follow-up [LTFU], etc.). The gap between the number of people initiated on DR-TB treatment and the subsequent cohort size reported can also be visualized.

There are no related indicators for this indicator.

Indicator Visualizations

Changelog

January, 2024: Updated based on the Interim PBMEF Tuberculosis Indicator Compendium.