ABSTRACT
@#Abstract: Objective To analyze the resistance and spatial distribution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) to six commonly used anti-tuberculosis drugs in Qinghai Province from 2016 to 2019, so as to provide a reference for tuberculosis treatment and drug-resistant tuberculosis control. Methods A total of 1 182 identified strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Qinghai Province from 2016 to 2019 were collected, and 6 anti-tuberculosis drugs were subjected to drug susceptibility tests and strain confirmed by the proportional method. By means of ArcMap10.7 and SaTScan10.1 software, map visualization, spatial autocorrelation analysis and spatial scanning of MTB drug resistance were performed to identify MTB drug resistance clusters in Qinghai Province. Results From 2016 to 2019, the total drug resistance (TDR) rate of 1 182 Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains in Qinghai Province was 23.77% (281/1 182), with a mono-resistance (MR) rate of 11.08% (131/1 182), a poly-resistance (PDR) rate of 3.89% (46/1 182), a multi-drug resistance (MDR) rate of 8.80% (104/1 182), and an extensive drug resistance (XDR) rate of 0.85% (10/1 182). The rates of MDR, XDR and TDR all showed a decreasing trend year by year (P<0.01). The drug resistance spectrum displayed 21 combinations. The TDR rate and MDR rate in the retreatment patients were higher than those of the initial treated patients, and the difference was statistically significant (χ2 TDR=22.784, χ2MDR=45.082, P<0.01). In terms of demographic characteristics, the TDR rate in males was higher than that in females, and the middle-aged group was higher than other age groups, and the differences were statistically significant (χ2=7.541, 10.825, P<0.05). The results of global spatial autocorrelation analysis showed that there was no statistical significance in the autocorrelation and obvious spatial clustering of MTB drug resistance in Qinghai Province from 2016 to 2019 (P>0.05), which indicated a random distribution. The results of spatiotemporal scanning showed that there was a kind of clustering area, but the clustering effect was not significant (P>0.05), indicating a random distribution. Conclusions The TDR of MTB in Qinghai Province from 2016 to 2019 showed a downward trend year by year. In comparison with the national average, the rate of multi-drug resistance and extensive drug resistance was still high, and most of the multi-drug resistance resulted from rifampicin and isoniazid. The drugresistant population mainly consisted of retreatment, males, and young and middle-aged pop