Treatment outcome of patients with delayed sputum conversion in category-1 anti- tuberculosis treatment in central kerala

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease that has severely affected communities and nations since time immemorial. Controlling TB in India is a tremendous challenge. Delay in sputum conversion’ is defined as persistent sputum smear positivity after 2 months of intensive phase of anti tuberculosis treatment. Persistent positive smears are associated with unfavourable treatment outcomes. Objectives1. To study the treatment outcome of patients with delayed sputum conversion in category-1 anti- tuberculosis treatment.2.To study the clinical profile of patients with delayed sputum conversion in category-1 anti- tuberculosis treatment
Materials and methods
Study design- prospective cohort study. Study setting- Thrissur district of central Kerala.. Study duration- 10 months. Study population The patients who had registered under Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) of Thrissur district during the first quarter of 2013 and remained sputum positive after intensive phase of anti tuberculosis treatment during the same period. Sample size -51.
Results. Among the total 51 patients, 80.39% were males and 19.61% were females. Mean age was 51yrs ±13.84.Majority had primary level of education(57.14%)and were manual labours (48.98%).Smokers and alcoholics formed 77.55% and 57.14% of the sample respectively. Diabetes Mellitus was detected in 13(27.1%) of patients. The mean duration taken to diagnose tuberculosis was 41±22 days. Treatment outcomes attained were: cured- 78.43%, treatment completed-3.92%, Lost to follow up - 9.8%, failure -5.88%, MDR case- 1.96%.