Are anti-TB drugs as effective in HIV-positive patients as they are in TB patients without HIV?
The response to anti-TB therapy is the same for HIV-positive and HIV-negative TI3 patients. The only exception is that thiacetazone is not recommended for HIV-positive TB patients because it may increase the risk of severe and sometimes fatal skin reactions. Common problems with TB therapy include non-adherence with therapy, increase in adverse drug reactions and simultaneously occurrence of other opportunistic diseases. Therefore, the clinical and bacteriological response to treatment should be closely monitored. Therapy should be prolonged only for patients with a slow or sub-optimal response. HIV-related immuno-suppression does not interfere with the effectiveness of therapy for TB. Several studies have assessed the clinical, radiological and microbiological response to short course chemotherapy in HIV-positive and HIV-negative TB patients. Excepting for patients who die, response rates have been similar in both the groups. Since the management of TB and the response to standard sho
