Resistant tuberculosis in Maranhão, Brazil: a case series.

BACKGROUND: Mycobacterium tuberculosis multidrug resistance, especially against rifampicin and isoniazid, places pulmonary tuberculosis in the list of emerging diseases. The misuse of therapeutic regimens is one of its main predisposing factors. CASE PRESENTATION: Four clinical cases (three were brown and one black) with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, treated in a reference hospital in the state of Maranhão, Brazil, were reported to evaluate the importance of radiological framework on disease evolution. CONCLUSION: The clinical framework showed a bad evolution and drug resistance, while radiology showed lung lesions, ranging from exudative infiltrates to lung parenchyma disintegration.