Republic of the Philippines

Department of Health
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
August 7, 2017

DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM
No. 2017 - 03f3

FOR: SECRETARY OF HEALTH OF AUTONOMOUS REGION IN

MUSLIM MINDANAO, ALL DOH REGIONAL DIRECTORS

SUBJECT: Guidelines on the use of Category II Treatment Regimen

The Guidelines for Treatment of Drug-susceptible Tuberculosis and Patient Care -

2017 UPDATE published last April 2017 of the World Health Organization regarding
retreatment cases, states that: "The category II regimen is no longer recommended for
patients who require TB retreatment and drug-susceptibility testing shotµd be conducted to
inform the choice of treatment regimen".

In view thereof, the National TB Control Program will adopt this guideline and informs
all DOH Regional Offices that upon consumption of the current Category II TB kits, the
Program will no longer procure this commodity.

Therefore, all presumptive retreatment TB should be tested using a rapid molecular test
to determine at least Rifampicin resistance. If the result is non-resistance to rifampicin,
standard first-line treatment regimen Category I (2HRZE/4HR) will be given to the patient. If
rifampicin resistance is detected, Category IV MDR-TB regimen should be prescribed which is
aligned with the WHO's guidelines.

For strict compliance.

By Authority of the Secretary of Health:

fu~-~O,
( Undersecretary of Health
MD, MPH CESO ill

Office for Technical Service

Reference: Guidelines for treatment of drug-susceptible tuberculosis and patient care, 2017 update. Geneva: World Health
Organization; 2017. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.

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