Trend of multidrug and fluoroquinolone resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from 2010 to 2014 in Korea: a multicenter study

Background/aims This study was conducted to evaluate the recent prevalence and trend of anti-tuberculosis (TB) drug resistance with a focus on multidrug-resistance (MDR) and fluoroquinolone resistance in South Korea. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the drug susceptibility testing results of culture-confirmed Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates collected from 2010 to 2014 at seven tertiary hospitals in South Korea. Results A total of 5,599 cases were included: 4,927 (88.0%) were new cases and 672 (12.0%) were previously treated cases. The MDR rate has significantly decreased from 6.0% in 2010 to 3.0% in 2014 among new cases, and from 28.6% in 2010 to 18.4% in 2014 among previously treated cases (p Conclusion The prevalence of MDR-TB has significantly decreased from 2010 to 2014. The prevalence of fluoroquinolone resistance among non-MDR-TB patients was low, but the existence of fluoroquinolone mono-resistant TB may be a warning on the widespread use of fluoroquinolone in the community.