Abstract: Objective To compare the clinical characteristics of rifampin-dependent (R-dependent Mycobacterium tuberculosis)
and rifampin-resistant (R-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis) patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Methods The clinical
data including the demographic data, age groups, course of disease, history of chemotherapy with anti-TB drugs, and results
of drug susceptibility test were collected from 61 cases of R-dependent pulmonary tuberculosis and 148 cases of R-resistant
pulmonary tuberculosis treated between October, 2008 and January, 2012. Results Most of the R-dependent and R-resistant
patients were between 30 and 44 years of age. The R-dependent patients included 12 receiving the first treatment patients and
49 with previous treatments, and the R-resistant patients included 11 without and 137 with previous treatments. The
multi-drug resistant rate was 80.3% in R-dependent group, as compared to 92.6% in R-resistant group. Conclusion Most of the
patients infected with R-dependent Mycobacterium tuberculosis are young or middle-aged, often having serious disease
conditions. Detecting rifampin dependence is important for patients with initial treatment failure. Multi-drug resistance
therapy guideline should be applied to patients infected with R-dependent Mycobacterium tuberculosis to improve the cure rate.