ABSTRACT Objective: To determine the utility and role of the LPA for the early diagnosis of MDR-TB on sputum smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Baluchistan, Pakistan.

Study Design: Cross sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Internal Medicine Bolan Medical College Hospital Quetta from 1st January 2019 to 29th February 2020.

Methodology: Two hundred and twenty-nine patients were randomly selected. The age of patients were more than 15 years of either gender were included. The detail medical history was taken and clinical examination was done. All the recruited patients were advised to collect 4–5 ml of early-morning sputum in a sterilized 50 ml Falcon tube for LPA-GenoType® MTBDR plus.

Results: Mean age of the patients was 49.25±10.64 years. The 119(51.96%) patients were male, while 110(48.03%) patients were females. Most of the patients 137(59.82%) were with age group of 35-60 years. Regarding drug resistance, 7(3.05%) patients were suffering from multidrug resistance tuberculosis, while 9(3.93%), 8(3.49%) patients were respectively suffering from rifampicin mono-resistance and isoniazid mono-resistance. The 202(88.20%) patients were shown sensitivity and susceptibility to all drugs. The 3(1.31%) patient’s results were considered as inconclusive and further evaluated by the Lowenstein-Jensen medium, Bactec and Bactec Mgit 960system.

Conclusion: The molecular based detection methods for tuberculosis, such as LPA-GenoType® MTBDR plus is newer and important molecular based technique for early detection of drug-resistant TB. It provides early and effective control of TB and reduces the death rate and TB infection or disease. Keywords: Multi drug resistant tuberculosis; Ziehl-Neelsen staining; line probe assay (LPA); Baluchistan.