When tuberculosis, a bacterial infection that mostly attacks the lungs and can spread through the air. Also known as TB, it's one of the oldest and most persistent infectious diseases still killing hundreds of thousands each year. doesn’t respond to the usual antibiotics like isoniazid and rifampin, you’re not alone. Millions face multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), where the bacteria survive first-line drugs. That’s when TB treatment alternatives, second-line drugs and newer regimens used when standard therapy fails. Also known as second-line TB drugs, they become the only path forward. These aren’t just backup options—they’re life-saving tools with different side effects, dosing schedules, and success rates.
Modern multidrug-resistant TB, a form of tuberculosis that resists at least isoniazid and rifampin, the two most powerful first-line drugs. Also known as MDR-TB, it affects about 450,000 people globally each year. requires longer treatment, often 9 to 20 months, and drugs like bedaquiline, linezolid, and clofazimine. These aren’t old-school pills—they’re newer agents developed over the last decade specifically because the old ones stopped working. Bedaquiline, for example, targets the bacteria’s energy system in a way older drugs never could. Linezolid, originally an antibiotic for skin infections, now plays a key role in TB regimens despite its risk of nerve damage. And clofazimine, once used for leprosy, is back in the fight against TB because it disrupts the bacterial cell wall. Each of these has trade-offs: cost, side effects, or access issues. But for many, they’re the only reason they’re still alive.
What’s missing from most patient conversations is the reality that TB therapy options, the full range of drugs and regimens used to treat tuberculosis, including standard, second-line, and experimental treatments. Also known as anti-TB medications, they vary widely by region, resistance pattern, and patient history. aren’t one-size-fits-all. A person in India might get a different combo than someone in South Africa or Ukraine. Some regimens are oral; others need daily injections. Some cost a few dollars a month; others run into thousands. And while WHO guidelines exist, real-world use depends on local supply chains, doctor experience, and patient tolerance. That’s why the posts below dive into specific comparisons: what works when rifampin fails, how bedaquiline stacks up against linezolid, why some patients switch to injectables, and what happens when even those don’t work. You’ll find real data on success rates, side effects, and how doctors decide between options—not theory, not brochures, but what’s happening in clinics and hospitals today.
Isoniazid has long been the standard for TB treatment, but safer, shorter alternatives like rifampin and rifapentine are now preferred. Learn which options work best for active and latent TB-and when to avoid isoniazid.
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