Treatment Outcome and Associated Factors among Tuberculosis Patients in Debre Tabor, Northwestern Ethiopia: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Background. Assessing the outcomes of tuberculosis (TB) treatment is an important indicator for evaluation of the effectiveness of tuberculosis control programs. In Ethiopia, directly observed treatment short course (DOTS) was included in the national tuberculosis control program as a strategy but little is known about its effectiveness in the study area. Therefore, this study was aimed at assessing the treatment outcomes of TB patients and associated factors in Debre Tabor, northwest Ethiopia. Methods. A retrospective study was conducted among TB patients for the period from May 2008 to April 2013 at Debre Tabor Health Center, northwest Ethiopia. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Descriptive statistics were used to generate frequency tables and figures. Logistic regressions were used to identify factors associated with treatment outcomes at P value ≤ 0.05. Results. Out of 339 patients (197 males and 142 females) registered for antituberculosis treatment in Debre Tabor Health Center, only 303 patients were included in the treatment outcome analysis and 87.1% had successful treatment outcome while 12.9% had unsuccessful treatment outcome. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the odds of successful treatment outcome were higher among patients ≥45 years of age (AOR = 3.807, 95% CI: 1.155–12.544) and lower among females (AOR = 0.347, 95% CI: 0.132–0.917), rural residents (AOR = 0.342, 95% CI: 0.118–0.986), and negative smear result at the second month of treatment (AOR = 0.056, 95% CI: 0.005–0.577) as compared to their counterparts. Conclusion. The treatment outcome of all forms of tuberculosis patients in Debre Tabor health center was satisfactory as expected from effective implementation of DOTS. Although the observed successful treatment outcome was in agreement with the national target, follow-up of patients during the course of treatment to trace the treatment outcomes of transferred-out patients and assessment of other potential sociodemographic factors that could affect the treatment outcomes of TB patients were also recommended.

Factors associated with unsuccessful treatment outcome in tuberculosis patients among refugees and their surrounding communities in Gambella Regional State, Ethiopia

“…Interestingly, the present study revealed that female (AOR = 0.76; 95% CI: 0.63–0.91) were less likely to be unsuccessfully treated (to default, to fail, and die) compared to male. This was consistent with a study conducted in southern [ 42 ] and Northwestern Ethiopia [ 43 ]. The lower social interaction outside home, mobility from place to place and other related TB risk behaviors of females might contribute to this lower death, failure and default among the female.…”

Poor treatment outcomes and its determinants among tuberculosis patients in selected health facilities in East Wollega, Western Ethiopia

“…Male patients were more likely to have poor treatment outcome when compared to females (AOR: 1.81; 95% CI: 1.06–3.10; P = 0.031). A similar finding was reported elsewhere in north Ethiopia [ 28 ], northwest Ethiopia [ 29 ], southern Ethiopia [ 30 ] and worldwide [ 31 ]. Being highly exposed to cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption and HIV prevalence and travelling a long distance for economic reasons might contribute to poor treatment success rate in men.…”

Tuberculosis treatment success among rural and urban Ugandans living with HIV: a retrospective study

“…TB treatment success rates among PLHIV vary widely among sub-Saharan African countries, [15][16][17][18][19][20][21] and our study findings fit within this range. Studies that reported better treatment success rates than our study had more well-organised community-based DOTS programmes and better patient tracing 7,17,[22][23][24] than most rural clinics in our study. The higher proportion of patients reported as LTFU by rural clinics was likely related to patient characteristics: such patients lived further from health facilities, presented later for treatment, were more likely to be malnourished, and had lower CD4 cell counts at diagnosis than their urban counterparts and received less treatment monitoring than urban patients, consistent with other studies in Uganda and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa.…”