BackgroundWhile diabetes mellitus (DM) is a known risk factor for tuberculosis, the prevalence among TB patients in India is unknown. Routine screening of TB patients for DM may be an opportunity for its early diagnosis and improved management and might improve TB treatment outcomes. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of TB patients registered from June–July 2011 in the state of Kerala, India, to determine the prevalence of DM.Methodology/Principal FindingsA state-wide representative sample of TB patients in Kerala was interviewed and screened for DM using glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c); patients self-reporting a history of DM or those with HbA1c ≥6.5% were defined as diabetic. Among 552 TB patients screened, 243(44%) had DM – 128(23%) had previously known DM and 115(21%) were newly diagnosed - with higher prevalence among males and those aged >50years. The number needed to screen(NNS) to find one newly diagnosed case of DM was just four. Of 128 TB patients with previously known DM, 107(84%) had HbA1c ≥7% indicating poor glycemic control.Conclusions/SignificanceNearly half of TB patients in Kerala have DM, and approximately half of these patients were newly-diagnosed during this survey. Routine screening of TB patients for DM using HbA1c yielded a large number of DM cases and offered earlier management opportunities which may improve TB and DM outcomes. However, the most cost-effective ways of DM screening need to be established by futher operational research.

Rationale India reports the largest number of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis cases in the world; yet, no longitudinal study has assessed factors related to treatment outcomes under programmatic conditions in the public sector. Objectives To describe demographic, clinical, and risk characteristics associated with treatment outcomes for all patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis registered in the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme, Kerala State, India from January 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010. Methods Cox regression methods were used to calculate adjusted hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to assess factors associated with an unsuccessful treatment outcome. Measurements and Main Results Of 179 patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis registered, 112 (63%) had successful treatment outcomes (77 bacteriologically cured, 35 treatment completed) and 67 (37%) had unsuccessful treatment outcomes (30 died, 26 defaulted, 9 failed treatment, 1 stopped treatment because of drug-related adverse events, and 1 developed extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis). The hazard for unsuccessful outcome was significantly higher among patients who consumed alcohol during treatment (adjusted hazard ratio, 4.3; 95% CI, 1.1–17.6) than those who did not. Persons who consumed alcohol during treatment, on average, missed 18 more intensive-phase doses (95% CI, 13–22) than those who did not. Although many patients had diabetes (33%), were ever smokers (39%), or had low body mass index (47%), these factors were not associated with outcome. Conclusion Overall treatment success was greater than global and national averages; however, outcomes among patients consuming alcohol remained poor. Integration of care for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and alcoholism should be considered to improve treatment adherence and outcomes.

SettingsKerala State, India has reported the greatest dual burden of Tuberculosis (TB) and Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Malappuram district in Kerala has monitored and recorded DM status and its control from 2010 under Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP).ObjectivesTo assess, under programme conditions, comprehensiveness of recording DM status among TB cases and the TB treatment outcomes among DM patients (disaggregated by glycemic control) and compare with-non DM patients.DesignThis retrospective record review included 3,116TB patients from April 2010 to September 2011.DM was defined as per international guidelines and TB treatment outcomes were categorized as favourable(cured and treatment completed) and unfavourable(death, default, failure and transfer out). Relative Risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals(CI) were calculated to assess the risk of unfavourable outcomes.ResultsDM status was recorded in 90% of TB cases and 667 (24%) had DM. 17% of DM patients and 23% of patients with unknown DM status had unfavourable outcomes but this difference was not statistically significant. Unadjusted RR for poor glycemic control or unknown control status for unfavourable outcome were (2.00; 95% CI 0.97–4.13) and (2.14; 95% CI 1.11–4.13).ConclusionThis study could not confirm an adverse association between DM or its control during treatment and the course of response to TB treatment.DM screening in TB cases and recording of DM care needs to be improved to enable more conclusive evidence.

Setting: Two tertiary care hospitals and 12 peripheral health institutions (PHIs) in Trivandrum, Kerala, India. Objective: To determine factors associated with the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) among tuberculosis (TB) patients and examine differences in the proportion of new DM cases among TB patients diagnosed at tertiary care centres and PHIs. Design: A descriptive study: TB patients diagnosed during March-September 2012 were screened for known DM. Those with unknown DM status were tested for random blood glucose and fasting blood glucose (FBG); FBG ⩾ 126 mg/dl was diagnosed as new DM. Results: Of 920 TB patients, 689 (72%) were male and the mean (standard deviation) age was 47.6 (16.4) years. Of these, 298 (32.4%) were diabetic: 235 (26%) had previously known DM and 63 (7%) were newly diagnosed. During the screening at PHIs and tertiary care hospitals, respectively 30/183 (16.4%) and 33/737 (4.5%) were newly diagnosed with DM (OR 3.71; 95%CI 2.17-6.32). Overall, age >50 years and pulmonary tuberculosis were independently associated with a higher prevalence of diabetes. Conclusion: As nearly one in three TB patients had DM, we recommend that TB patients should be routinely screened for DM in Kerala. As the proportion of new DM was higher among TB patients diagnosed at PHIs, we would recommend that specific attention and investment be directed to PHIs. India, the country with the highest number of tuberculosis (TB) cases in the world (an estimated 2.2 million cases in 2011), 1 also has a very high burden of diabetes mellitus (DM), with an estimated 63 million cases in 2012. 2 In India, 15% of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases have been estimated to be attributable to DM. 3 DM also affects TB treatment outcomes and may delay sputum conversion, increase case fatality rates during treatment, lead to increased failure rates in non-drug-resistant cases and also increase relapse rates of TB after successful completion of treatment. 4,5 Given this scenario, it has been felt that active screening for DM in TB patients may allow identifi cation of previously undiagnosed DM and improve TB treatment outcomes through improved DM care.Diabetes is common in Kerala, a state in South India with a population of 34.6 million, with an estimated community prevalence of 16-20%. 6 TB patients, with a recent study reporting a prevalence of 44%. 9 As standardised procedures for DM screening among TB patients for use in hospitals and TB units (TUs)-a sub-district level tuberculosis programme management unit covering a population of 500 000, made up of varying numbers of peripheral health institutions (PHIs)-were not available in India, a monitoring tool linked to the TB registration and quarterly reporting system was developed and implemented, starting in multiple centres in India in 2012. The fi ndings of this pilot study 10 showed that the screening procedures worked well, and the overall prevalence of DM in over 8000 screened TB patients was 13%. Trivandrum, in Kerala, was one of the sites that implemented screening at both ...

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