Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB), a curable and preventable infectious disease, becomes difficult to treat if resistance against most effective and tolerable first line anti-TB drugs is developed. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the treatment outcomes and predictors of poor outcomes among drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) patients treated at a programmatic management unit of drug resistant tuberculosis (PMDT) unit, Punjab, Pakistan. Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted at a a PMDT unit in Multan, Punjab, Pakistan. A total of 271 eligible culture positive DR-TB patients enrolled for treatment at the study site between January 2016 and May 2017 were followed till their treatment outcomes were recorded. World Health Organization’s (WHO) defined criteria was used for categorizing treatment outcomes. The outcomes of cured and treatment completed were collectively placed as successful outcomes, while death, lost to follow-up (LTFU) and treatment failure were grouped as unsuccessful outcomes. Multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was employed for getting predictors of unsuccessful treatment outcomes. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Of the 271 DR-TB patients analysed, nearly half (51.3%) were males. The patient’s (Mean ± SD) age was 36.75 ± 15.69 years. A total of 69% patients achieved successful outcomes with 185 (68.2%) patients being cured and 2 (0.7%) completed therapy. Of the remaining 84 patients with unsuccessful outcomes, 48 (17.7%) died, 2 (0.7%) were declared treatment failure, 34 (12.5%) were loss to follow up. After adjusting for confounders, patients’ age > 50 years (OR 2.149 (1.005–4.592) with p-value 0.048 and baseline lung cavitation (OR 7.798 (3.82–15.919) with p-value <0.001 were significantly associated with unsuccessful treatment outcomes. Conclusions: The treatment success rate (69%) in the current study participants was below the target set by WHO (>75%). Paying special attention and timely intervention in patients with high risk of unsuccessful treatment outcomes may help in improving treatment outcomes at the study site.

The present study focused on developing and evaluating lincomycin HCl (LCH)-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs) incorporated into a nanogel system to improve wound healing. CSNPs were prepared via ionic gelation using sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) as a cross-linker. The optimized formulation showed a mean particle size of 174.3 nm, a polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.267, a zeta potential of +29.4 mV, and a drug entrapment efficiency of 83.7%. FTIR, DSC, and XRD analyses confirmed successful drug encapsulation and stability with no chemical interactions. The formulation demonstrated sustained release (>75% in 24 hours) following non-Fickian kinetics. Antibacterial testing revealed improved efficacy against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli with inhibition zones of 45 mm ± 2.76 and 38 mm ± 2.15, respectively. In vivo wound healing studies in rats demonstrated almost complete wound closure within 14 days in the treated group, compared to significantly slower healing in the control group. These results show that the LCH–CSNP nanogel provides controlled drug release, effective antimicrobial action, and accelerated wound healing, highlighting its potential as a topical therapeutic platform.