[Complex treatment of patients with destructive pulmonary tuberculosis including intramuscular administration of isoniazid].

The results of a complex treatment of 126 patients with destructive pulmonary tuberculosis have been studied. The chemotherapy regimen of 72 patients comprised intramuscular administration of a 10% isoniazid solution and 54 received isoniazid orally. Both groups of patients were identical in the clinical pattern of pulmonary tuberculosis and treatment conditions. Treatment effectiveness proved to be higher in Group I patients in whom the hospital stay was mainly 6 months. With oral isoniazid, it was longer and 24% of patients (versus 9.7% in Group I) required more prolonged therapy. Clinical manifestations, which were identical in both groups in the pre-treatment period, subsided earlier when isoniazid was administered intramuscularly. Hence, intramuscular administration of 10% isoniazid solution, as compared with its oral use, raises the effectiveness of chemotherapy and decreases the terms of a hospital treatment.