What is one of the benefits of using combination therapy in tuberculosis treatment?

Combination therapy in tuberculosis (TB) treatment primarily focuses on decreasing the likelihood of developing drug-resistant TB. When multiple antibiotics are used simultaneously, it makes it much harder for the bacteria to evolve resistance against the drugs. Each medication targets the bacteria in different ways, which reduces the chances of any individual bacterium surviving if it has inherent resistance to one of the drugs.

This is particularly critical in TB treatment because drug-resistant strains of the disease can make infections much more challenging to treat and lead to poorer patient outcomes. By utilizing a combination of drugs, healthcare providers can effectively suppress the bacterial load while minimizing the risk of resistance development, which is one of the foremost challenges in managing TB cases.

In the context of the other options, while they may present certain advantages, they are not the primary goal of combination therapy for TB. For instance, reducing costs or lowering side effects are not guaranteed results of using multiple medications and can vary significantly between patients. Similarly, while combination therapy might influence the duration of hospital stays, that is not its main aim compared to the critical necessity of preventing drug resistance.