Age-stratified anti-tuberculosis drug resistance profiles in South Korea: a multicenter retrospective study

Background The emergence of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) is a major healthcare concern worldwide. Here, we analyzed age-related trends in DR-TB rates in South Korea. Methods Drug susceptibility test results were collected from patients with culture-confirmed TB between 2015 and 2018 from eight university-affiliated hospitals. Patients were divided into three subgroups: younger (15-34 years), middle (35-59 years), and older (≥60 years) to compare drug-resistance patterns. To evaluate trends in age-stratified drug-resistance, chi-square test for linear trends was performed. Results Among enrolled native patients aged ≥15 years, 4.1% (179/4417), 1.2% (53/4417) and 7.2% (316/4417) were multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), rifampicin-mono-resistant TB (RR-TB), and isoniazid-mono-resistant TB (Hr-TB), respectively. Proportions of Hr-TB cases were 5.4% (40/734), 7.2% (114/1593), and 7.8% (162/2090) in the younger, middle and older age groups, respectively. MDR/RR-TB case rates decreased significantly with age from 8.6% (63/734) in younger age group to 3.3% (68/2090) in older age group. Fluoroquinolone resistance was highest among second-line drugs, and there were no differences in resistance to fluoroquinolones and second-line injectable drugs among the three age groups. Conclusions The number of MDR/RR-TB cases was highest in young patients. Effective public health interventions should include increased focus on rifampicin resistance in young patients.