Objective To evaluate the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine（ TCM） syndrome identification and chemotherapy for multidrug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis（ MDR-PTB）. Methods A multicenter

randomized and parallel-group clinical study was conducted. Totally 742 cases of MDR-PTB were randomized into the treatment group of 388 cases and control group of 354 cases. Both groups were given chemotherapy. The treatment group was added with TCM therapy based on syndrome identification. The treatment lasted for 18 months. The changes of sputum conversion rate

lesion absorption

cavity closure and SF36 score were observed. Results The sputum conversion rate in the treatment group and control group was 48. 45% and 38. 70% respectively at the end of injection period

with a significant difference between groups（ P < 0. 01）. The lesion absorption rate in the treatment group and control group was 84. 65% and 78. 92% respectively at the end of treatment

with a significant difference between groups（ P < 0. 05）. The SF-36 scores in the treatment group were significantly higher than those in the control group at the end of injection period and treatment（ P < 0. 01）. The sputum conversion rate

lesion absorption rate and SF-36 score of patients with syndrome of hyperactivity of fire due to yin deficiency in the treatment group were significantly higher than those of patients with same syndrome in the control group at the end of injection period and treatment（ P < 0. 05 or P < 0. 01）. There was no significant difference between groups in the cavity closure at different time or with different syndromes（ P > 0. 05）. Conclusion TCM syndrome identification combined with chemotherapy is effective for MDR-PTB

with a better efficacy as compared with chemical drugs. It can obviously increase sputum conversion rate and improve quality of life

especially for patients with syndrome of hyperactivity of fire due to yin deficiency.