“We are the Children…. Hear our Voices”: Improving Access to Child-Friendly Formulations of Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Medicine: The KwaZulu-Natal Experience
Abstract
The past five years have seen revolutionary changes in the diagnosis and management of rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (RR-TB), including the use of new and repurposed drugs and novel therapeutic approaches.1 Following years of stagnation in the drug development pipeline, the introduction of two new agents, bedaquiline and delaminid, and the use of the repurposed medicines, clofazimine and linezolid, have provided hope for patients globally, reducing the pill burden and duration of treatment.2 Critically, this has also enabled all-oral regimens, avoiding the adverse events associated with aminoglycosides and the need for in-hospital treatment.
