article · BMC Research Notes
Directly observed treatment short-course programmes have improved survival and success rates for tuberculosis patients across Ethiopia, yet some individuals still fail to complete therapy successfully. An evaluation of 303 patients treated between 2008 and 2013 in Debre Tabor, northwest Ethiopia, revealed that approximately 12.9 percent experienced poor treatment outcomes. Demographic and clinical factors significantly influenced these results. Male patients, urban residents, and individuals aged between 35 and 44 years faced a higher likelihood of poor outcomes. Clinical markers also played an important role, as patients with positive or unknown sputum smear results at the second month of therapy experienced worse outcomes. Conversely, newly treated patients achieved better results than those undergoing retreatment courses. These findings highlight clear patient sub-groups requiring closer clinical attention.
Identifying the specific groups most vulnerable to tuberculosis treatment failure enables healthcare services to intervene earlier. Recognising risks tied to patient demographics, previous treatment history, and two-month sputum smear results allows healthcare managers to design more focused monitoring strategies, ultimately helping to curb disease transmission and improve completion rates in public health programmes.
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OBJECTIVE: Directly observed treatment short course has been implemented as part of the national tuberculosis control program in Ethiopia. The strategy, as evidenced by different studies, has improved the survival and treatment success rate of tuberculosis patients. However, some patients failed to complete their treatments and the factors for this failure were not assessed in the study area. We, therefore sought to identify factors associated with poor treatment outcome of tuberculosis in Debre Tabor, northwest Ethiopia. RESULTS: We included 303 patients (173 males, 130 females) with mean age of 34.9 years in the study and 39 (12.9%) patients were with poor treatment outcome over the period of 5 years (2008-2013). Being male, urban residency, positive and unknown smear result at the 2nd month of treatment and patients in the age of 35-44 years were more likely to have poor treatment outcomes than their counterparts. Patients in the new treatment category were less likely to have poor treatment outcome compared to the retreated cases. Further studies are recommended to explore the association of poor treatment outcome with other important factors which are not investigated by this study.
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DOI: 10.1186/s13104-018-3129-8
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