Tuberculosis (TB) Medications

Active tuberculosis (TB)

Several antibiotics are used at the same time to treat active tuberculosis (TB) disease.
For people who have multidrug-resistant TB, treatment may continue for as long as 24 months.
These antibiotics are given as pills or injections.
For active TB, there are different treatment recommendations for children, pregnant
women, people who have HIV and TB, and people who have drug-resistant TB.
Extrapulmonary TB
TB disease that occurs in parts of your body other than the lungs (extrapulmonary TB)
usually is treated with the same medicines and for the same length of time as active TB in the
lungs (pulmonary TB). But TB throughout the body (miliary TB) or TB that affects the brain or
the bones and joints in children may be treated for at least 12 months.
Corticosteroid medicines also may be given in some severe cases to reduce
inflammation. They may be helpful for children at risk of central nervous system problems
caused by TB and for people who have conditions such as high fever, TB throughout the body
(miliary TB), pericarditis, or peritonitis.
Latent TB
One antibiotic usually is used to treat latent TB infection, which cannot be spread to
others but can develop into active TB disease. The antibiotic usually is taken for 4 to 9 months.
Or more than one antibiotic may be taken once a week for 12 weeks. For this treatment, a
health professional watches you take each dose of antibiotics. Taking every dose of antibiotic
helps prevent the TB bacteria from getting resistant to the antibiotics.
Medicine choices
Multiple-drug therapy to treat TB usually involves taking four antibiotics at the same
time. This is the standard treatment for active TB.
Other anti-tuberculosis medicines may be used for people with multidrug-resistant TB.
Tuberculosis (TB) Surgery
Surgery is rarely used to treat tuberculosis (TB). But it may be used to treat
extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) or to treat complications of an infection in the lungs or
another part of the body.
Surgery is used to:
Repair lung damage, such as serious bleeding that cannot be stopped any other way,
or repeated lung infections other than TB.
Remove a pocket of bacteria that cannot be killed with long-term medicine treatment.
Surgery has a high success rate, but it also has a risk of complications, which may include
infections other than TB and shortness of breath after surgery.
Surgery for TB outside the lungs
Surgery sometimes may be needed to remove or repair organs damaged by TB in parts of the
body other than the lungs (extrapulmonary TB) or to prevent other rare complications, such as:
TB infection of the brain (TB meningitis). Your doctor may surgically place a tube (shunt) that
drains excess fluid from the brain to prevent a buildup of pressure that can further damage the
brain.
TB infections of the heart (TB pericarditis). Your surgeon may partially remove or repair the
infected sac around the heart.
TB infection of the kidneys (renal TB). Your surgeon may need to either remove your infected
kidney or repair the kidney or other parts of the urinary system.
TB infection of the joints. You may need surgery to repair damaged areas of your spine or joints
(orthopedic surgery).