Analysis of Treatment Outcome in Patients with Tuberculosis in War Affected Region of Khyber Paktunkhwa, Pakistan
Abstract ABSTRACT Background Globally, tuberculosis (TB) remains the leading cause of death from a single infectious disease. TB treatment outcome is an indicator for the effectiveness of a national TB control programs. This study aimed to assess treatment outcome of TB patients and its determinants in Batkhela, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Methods A retrospective cohort study was designed using all TB patients who were enrolled at District Head Quarter (DHQ) Hospital Batkhela, Pakistan. Distribution of TB types, treatment outcome and associated factor with successful treatment was computed using SPSS version 20.0 software for windows. Results A total of 515 TB patients were registered, of which 237 (46%) were males and 278 (53.98%) females. Of the total, 234 (45.44%) were cured and 210 (40.77%) completed treatment with overall treatment success rate was 444 (86.21%). Age 0-20 years (AOR= 3.47; 95% CI= 1.54-7.81; P= 0.003), smear-positive pulmonary TB (SPPTB) (AOR= 3.58; 95% CI= 1.89-6.78; P= <0.001), treatment category (AOR= 4.71; 95% CI= 1.17-18.97; P= 0.029), and year of enrollment 2012 (AOR= 6.26; 95% CI= 2.52-15.59; P= <0.001) were significantly associated with successful treatment outcome. Conclusions The overall treatment success rate is satisfactory but still need to be improved to achieve the international targeted treatment outcome. An increase was observed in overall case-fatality rate during the study duration which is an alarming signal for public health.