Rifampicin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis among tuberculosis-presumptive cases at University of Gondar Hospital, northwest Ethiopia

Rifampicin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis among tuberculosis-presumptive cases at University of Gondar Hospital, northwest Ethiopia Kefyalew N Jaleta,1,* Mucheye Gizachew,1 Baye Gelaw,1 Habtie Tesfa,2 Alem Getaneh,1 Belete Biadgo3,* 1Department of Medical Microbiology, 2Department of Medical Parasitology, 3Department of Clinical Chemistry, School of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: Various studies have reported that the emergence of drug-resistant tuberculosis poses a significant threat to tuberculosis-control programs worldwide. Rifampicin resistance is a surrogate marker of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, since it reveals the presence of greater than 90% isoniazid resistance. Evidence on rifampicin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis is scarce in the literature. Objective: To determine the prevalence of rifampicin-resistant M. tuberculosis among tuberculosis-presumptive cases at the University of Gondar Hospital. Materials and methods: A retrospective study was conducted at the University of Gondar Hospital from January 2013 to August 2015. Data were collected from registration books using a data-extraction format after securing ethical approval and checking the completeness of necessary information. Data were double-entered and rechecked to ensure accuracy and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results were summarized using descriptive statistics. Associations were assessed using Fisher’s exact test, and P