Old antibiotics for emerging multidrug-resistant/extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/XDR-TB)

International audienceRecently, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) has become a therapeutic challenge. In addition to drug resistance, drug adverse events, intravenous delivery, cost and availability of some antibiotics in low-income countries have led to a look back to old drugs, especially those efficient against closely related organisms such as Mycobacterium leprae. Here we review the available drugs that respect the conditions above and could be upgraded to first-line therapy for treating MDR-TB and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB). (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. and International Society of Chemotherapy. All rights reserved