In 2021, the World Health Organization recommended new extensively drug-resistant (XDR) and pre-XDR tuberculosis (TB) definitions. In a recent cohort of TB patients in Eastern Europe, we show that XDR TB as currently defined is associated with exceptionally poor treatment outcomes, considerably worse than for the former definition (31% vs. 54% treatment success).
Keywords: Central Asia; Eastern Europe; Georgia; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Moldova; Ukraine; bacteria; disease management; epidemiology; extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis; multidrug-resistant tuberculosis; treatment outcome; tuberculosis and other mycobacteria.