Introduction:

Timely initiation of treatment is crucial for program management in countries with a high burden of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). The delay in the initiation of the treatment allows the transmission in the community and the appearance of TB-MDR cases.

Material and methods:

Retrospective review of the files of the Tuberculosis Clinic of the Tijuana General Hospital, including all cases with a diagnosis of tuberculosis with rifampicin resistance (RR-TB) or MDR-TB, during the period between 2006-2019. The interval (in days) between the regimen prescription and the start of treatment was determined.

Results:

52 patients were included. The delay in the initiation of treatment after having recommended a treatment regimen for TB-RR /MDR was 115.6 ± 109.2 days (3.8 months) with a median of 97.5 days. The delay in patients who were cured was 113.4 days versus 155.0 days for patients who died (p = 0.83).

Conclusions:

The time interval between prescription of treatment of an RR/MDR-TB case and the start of treatment (115 days) is unacceptably long. The network for MDR-TB care would be strengthened with the decentralization of stocks of second-line anti-tuberculosis drugs.