The treatment of tuberculosis.

Short-course chemotherapy has made the treatment of TB easier and better than ever, but it works only when patients take the drugs regularly. Compliance is a must for therapy to be successful. Physicians treating patients with tuberculosis should be acutely aware of noncompliance, and every effort to ensure adequate treatment must be put forth. Directly supervised therapy is an excellent option when enough resources are available. Intermittent regimens markedly reduce the manpower required for observed therapy. New agents are being tested for in vitro activity against M. tuberculosis, and clinical studies of those found to be potentially effective are needed to formulate new regimens against the ever-increasing threat of multidrug-resistant TB.