SettingThe State of Rio de Janeiro stands out as having the second highest incidence and the highest mortality rate due to TB in Brazil. This study aims at identifying the factors associated with the unfavourable treatment of MDR/XDR-TB patients in that State.MethodData on 2269 MDR-TB cases reported in 2000–2016 in Rio de Janeiro State were collected from the Tuberculosis Surveillance System. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were run to estimate the factors associated with unfavourable outcomes (failure, default, and death) and, specifically, default and death.ResultsThe proportion of unfavourable outcomes was 41.9% among MDR-TB and 81.5% among XDR-TB. Having less than 8 years of schooling, and being an Afro-Brazilian, under 40 years old and drug user were associated with unfavourable outcome and default. Bilateral disease, HIV positive, and comorbidities were associated with death. XDR-TB cases had a 4.7-fold higher odds of an unfavourable outcome, with 29.3% of such cases being not treated for multidrug resistance in the past.ConclusionAbout 30% of XDR-TB cases may have occurred by primary transmission. The high rates of failure and death in this category reflect the limitation of treatment options. This highlights the urgency to incorporate new drugs in the treatment.

Neste estudo, estimou-se a proporção e os fatores associados à subnotificação da tuberculose multirresistente (TB-MDR) no Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, assim como a proporção de óbitos nesse grupo. Realizou-se um estudo de coorte retrospectiva, utilizando a técnica de relacionamento probabilístico entre sistemas de informação. Os casos com resultado do teste de sensibilidade às drogas (TSA) com padrão TB-MDR registrados no Sistema Gerenciador de Ambiente Laboratorial (GAL), no período 2010 a 2017, foram relacionados com casos notificados no Sistema de Tratamentos Especiais de Tuberculose (SITETB). Regressões logísticas simples e múltipla foram realizadas para estimar os fatores associados à subnotificação. Para verificar o óbito, foi realizada a busca dos casos no Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade (SIM) e no portal do Tribunal de Justiça do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Dos 651 casos TB-MDR no GAL, 165 não haviam sido notificados no SITETB, perfazendo uma subnotificação de 25,4% na amostra. Entre os casos subnotificados, 61 (37%) foram encontrados nos registros de óbito. Na análise múltipla, ter o exame solicitado por um hospital (OR = 2,86; IC95%: 1,72-4,73) esteve associado à subnotificação. No geral, o tempo médio entre a solicitação do exame e a liberação do resultado foi de 113 dias. Entre os casos notificados, o tempo médio entre a solicitação do exame e o início do tratamento foi de 169 dias. Diante disso, é urgente fortalecer as ações de vigilância epidemiológica na TB-MDR, estabelecer e monitorar núcleos de vigilância hospitalar e as rotinas de notificação de TB nos hospitais, rever etapas operacionais, além de unificar os diversos sistemas de informação tornando-os mais ágeis e integrados.

Objective. To identify clinical and demographic factors associated with unfavorable treatment outcomes in patients with primary and acquired multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in Rio de Janeiro State. Methods. Retrospective cohort study using data on 2 269 MDR-TB cases in 2000–2016. Factors associated with unsuccessful, loss to follow-up, and death outcomes in patients with primary and acquired resistance were investigated with bivariate and multivariate regression. Results. Primary resistance was 14.7% among MDR-TB cases. The unfavorable outcomes proportion was 30.3% in the primary resistance group and 46.7% in the acquired resistance group. There were significant differences in demographic and clinical characteristics between the two groups. Proportionally, the group with primary resistance had more cases among women (46.4% vs. 33.5% in the acquired resistance group), Caucasians (47.3% and 34%), and those with ≥8 years of schooling (37.7% and 27.4%). Extensively drug-resistant TB patients had 12.2-fold higher odds of unsuccessful outcome than MDR-TB patients, and comorbidities had 2-fold higher odds in the primary resistance group. Extensively drug-resistant TB had 5.43-fold higher odds in the acquired MDR-TB group. Bilateral disease and <8 years of schooling were associated with unsuccessful outcome in both groups. Being an inmate had 8-fold higher odds of loss to follow-up in the primary resistance group. Culture conversion by the sixth month was a protective factor for all outcomes. Conclusions. Primary resistance cases of MDR-TB constitute a different transmission reservoir, which is related to other chronic diseases associated with higher acquisition of TB. The poor results observed in Rio de Janeiro State can contribute to increasing the transmission of primary MDR-TB, thus favoring drug resistance.

BACKGROUND: Brazil ranks 14th worldwide in the number of TB cases and 19th in terms of TB-HIV co-infected cases. This study aims at identifying clinical and demographic factors associated with unsuccessful treatment outcomes (loss to follow-up, treatment failure and death) of HIV-positive patients with multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil.METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of MDR-TB cases notified from 2000 to 2016 in RJ. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to assess risk factors associated with unsuccessful treatment in HIV-positive patients with MDR-TB.RESULTS: Among 2,269 patients, 156 (6.9%) were HIV-positive and had a higher proportion of unsuccessful treatment outcomes (52.6%) than HIV-negative cases (43.7%). All HIV-positive cases with extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) had unsuccessful treatment outcomes. Multivariate analysis shows that previous MDR-TB treatment (HR 1.97, 95% CI 1.22–3.18) and illicit drugs use (HR 1.68, 95% CI 1.01–2.78) were associated with a greater hazard of unsuccessful treatment outcomes, while 6-month culture conversion (HR 0.48, 95% CI 0.27–0.84) and use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) (HR 0.51, 95% CI 0.32–0.80) were predictors of reduced risk.CONCLUSIONS: Unsuccessful treatment was higher among HIV patients with MDR-TB than among HIV-negative patients. Prompt initiation of ART and effective interventions are necessary to improve treatment adherence and prevent retreatment cases.

SETTING: The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) has been decreasing in Portugal. Lisbon concentrates the largest number of cases of multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB in the country. This study aims at identifying clinical and demographic factors associated with unfavourable treatment results of patients with MDR-TB in the city.METHOD: The data on 265 MDR-TB cases, notified from 2000 to 2014 in the District of Lisbon, were collected from the Tuberculosis Surveillance System. Unfavourable cases were classified as failure, loss to follow-up (LTFU) and death. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were undertaken to estimate the factors associated with unfavourable outcomes, LTFU and death.RESULTS: The proportion of unfavourable outcomes was 30.5%. These were associated mostly with being male, foreign-born and resistant to kanamycin. Death was associated with being human immunodeficiency virus-positive and resistant to kanamycin. Being foreign-born had a 4.46-fold higher odds of a LTFU outcome than did being Portuguese-born. The foreign-born patients were mostly African immigrants.CONCLUSION: The main finding in this study is that foreign-born patients are associated with a higher probability of unfavourable outcomes than Portuguese-born patients. Therefore, foreign-born patients need more careful monitoring in the control of MDR-TB.

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> The increase in drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) threatens global progress in eliminating TB, and constitutes a major challenge for patients, health-care workers and health services. Treatment for multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) can last almost 2 years, and is more expensive, more toxic, and less effective than treating TB caused by drug-sensitive bacilli. This study aims to analyze patients’ narratives about the challenges they face during MDR-TB treatment and identify the support factors that help patients being treated in the most populous district of Portugal. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients being treated for MDR-TB. The interviews were coded using thematic analysis. They were audio-recorded, transcribed, and transported into NVivo v12 for data management and coding. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Depression, social discrimination, and the side effects of drugs are the main challenges faced by patients with MDR-TB. A good relationship of the patients with the health team, emotional support, and supervised treatment stand out as the factors that generate better adherence and treatment success. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> In addition to modern diagnostic techniques and new treatments, MDR-TB can be fought by focusing on the care and needs of patients. We suggest that the Lisbon Tuberculosis Program adopts the following measures: build the health-care team’s capacity to identify symptoms of depression early, increase public awareness of the disease, expand the multidisciplinary team, and expand the options for individualized social support for patients.

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