Background: Drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) undermines control efforts and its burden is poorly understood in resource-limited settings. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to provide an up-to-date summary of the extent of drug-resistant TB in Nigeria.
Methods: We searched PubMed, Scopus, Embase, HINARI, AJOL, the Cochrane library, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for reports published before January 31 2017, that included any resistance, mono-resistance or multidrug resistance to anti-TB drugs in Nigeria. Summary estimates were calculated using random effects models.
Results: We identified 34 anti-TB drug resistance surveys with 8002 adult TB patients consisting of 2982 new and 5020 previously-treated cases. The prevalence rate of any drug resistance among new TB cases was 32.0% (95% CI 24.0-40.0%; 734/2892) and among previously-treated cases, the rate was 53.0% (95% CI 35.0-71.0%; 1467/5020). Furthermore, multidrug resistance among new and previously-treated cases was 6.0% (95% CI 4.0-8.0%;161/2502)and 32.0% (95%CI 20.0-44.0; 357/949), respectively. There was significant heterogeneity between the studies (p<0.001, I2 tests). The prevalence of drug-resistant TB varied according to methods of drug susceptibility testing and geographic region of Nigeria.
Conclusion: The burden of drug-resistant TB in Nigeria is high. We recommend that a national anti-TB drug resistance survey be carried out, and strategies for case detection and programmatic management of drug-resistant TB in Nigeria need to be strengthened.