Reported Tuberculosis in the United States, 2021
TB Treatment and Case Outcomes
Successful completion of TB treatment for persons with TB disease is important to cure the patient of TB disease, prevent development of drug resistance, and minimize the risk of transmission to others.
Data collected by date and reason TB treatment was stopped (e.g., the patient completed treatment or the patient died) were used to calculate completion of treatment percentages. Cases of TB disease were stratified by the indicated length of treatment, based on American Thoracic Society, CDC, and Infectious Diseases Society of America treatment guidelines in effect during the period covered, the patient’s initial drug-susceptibility test results, age, and disease site.
TB treatment regimens vary in the duration of the regimen, the types of anti-TB drugs prescribed, and the dose and frequency of the drugs.
The most common initial treatment regimen for drug-susceptible TB disease, and in situations where drug-susceptibility is unknown, includes isoniazid, H; rifampin, R; pyrazinamide, Z; and ethambutol, E (HRZE), also known as RIPE.
Among persons with TB who were alive at diagnosis and had initial drug regimen information available in 2021,
- 83.2% began treatment with HRZE
- 10.4% began treatment with a four-drug regimen other than HRZE
- 6.3% started on a regimen of less than four drugs
Source: Treatment and Treatment Outcomes: 1993–2021
Successful completion of treatment for TB disease is important to prevent recurrence of TB disease and drug resistance.
- The national goal for treatment completion is for 95% of patients for whom 12 or fewer months of treatment is indicated to complete treatment within 12 months.
- Although the percentage of eligible patients completing treatment in 1 year has risen from 63.4% in 1993 to 89.9% in 2019, the nation is still short of the 95% goal, and the percentage has been relatively level since 2009.
In 2019, the most recent year for which complete outcome data are available, among persons with TB disease, a total of 892 (10.0%) persons died ().
- Of the 892 deaths, 221 (24.8%) persons were dead at the time of TB diagnosis, and 671 (75.2%) persons died after diagnosis (i.e., during treatment).
- Of the 10.0% of persons who died, about 35% of the deaths were attributed to TB.
- The percentage who died among persons with TB disease has remained consistent with previous years.
Learn more in the Executive Commentary.
