Tuberculosis Treatment Outcomes: A Fifteen Year Retrospective Study In Jos North And Mangu, Plateau State, North - Central Nigeria
Abstract Background Tuberculosis (TB) disease is the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent globally. Medication adherence will be more valuable if it improves clinical/treatment outcomes of the patient because treatment outcomes are major indicators for evaluating TB therapy. Objective To examine a fifteen-year record of tuberculosis treatment outcomes in Jos North and Mangu Local Government Areas of Plateau State. Methods The retrospective registry based study was done in five TB treatment centers which account for more than half of data for tuberculosis patients in Plateau State, North-Central Nigeria. Data were collected from 10,156 TB patient’s health records from 2001 to 2015. Treatment outcomes were classified as successful (cured, treatment completed) or unsuccessful (non-adherent, treatment failure or death). Analysis was done descriptively and factors associated with treatment outcomes were determined using multiple logistic regression with the aid of Stata version 11. Results Males were 58.1% of the population (10,156). Mean age ±SD was 35.5±15.5 years. The overall treatment success rate was 67.4%; non-adherence/defaulting rate was 18.5%, with majority of patients defaulting at the end of intensive phase of treatment; sputum conversion rate was 72.8% and mortality rate was 7.5%. A decrease in successful treatment outcomes from 83.8% to 64.4%, with a corresponding increase in unsuccessful treatment outcomes was observed. After adjusting for sex, and TB category, being HIV positive was 2.8 times (95% CI: 1.11-6.83, p =0.028) more likely to be associated with treatment success than having an unknown status. TALF/RAD, relapse and MDR-TB were less likely associated with treatment success than newly diagnosed TB patients Conclusion Underlying reasons for medication non-adherence and treatment failure identified should be resolved by the patient, treatment supporter and health system through adherence counseling, increased education on voluntary counseling and testing of HIV among TB patients. Keywords: Tuberculosis, Treatment Outcomes, Retrospective Study, Nigeria