Abstract
Background Multi Drug Resistance (MDR) Tuberculosis (TB) is a global risk. Several suboptimal results were noticed which resulted to introduction of a standardised short regimen of 9-12 to optimise favourable outcomes. This new intervention has not been evaluated for effectiveness since inception in the Eastern Cape Province. Objective: T o evaluate multidrug resistant tuberculosis conversion rate following initiation on short regimen. Methods A retrospective study using a descriptive design was used to collect data from conveniently sampled 71 documents at Nkqubela TB and Duncan Village Day hospitals. Data were collected using a self-designed structured questionnaire and analysed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24. Results Sixteen percent (n=19) of 71 records had no consecutive smear results. Demographic findings showed that the majority of the affected age group was between the ages of 36-45 years in both genders (34.7%, n=47) with males being highly affected more than females. The majority of participants were unemployed (51.7%), people living with HIV/AIDS (62.7%), use alcohol and smoking. Conversion rate was 68, 5%. Conclusion There is a need to review EDR web to accommodate sputum results irrespective of TB treatment start date. An extensive, ongoing counselling, support and health education needs to be provided for patients and families until the completion of treatment to emphasize the importance of monthly sputum collection and importance of treatment adherence. Clinicians need to strengthen their counselling and education skills. The introduction of short regimen to treat MDR has shown an improved sputum conversion rate in RR/MDR TB.
Molecular epidemiological study of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis isolated from sputum samples in Eastern Cape, South Africa