Abstract
Objectives: Optimal treatment success rates are critical to end tuberculosis in Namibia. Despite the scale-up of high quality DOTS in Namibia, treatment success falls short of the global target of 90%. Consequently, the objective of this study was to ascertain the predictors of treatment success rates under DOTS in Namibia to provide future direction.
Methods: A nation-wide comparative analysis of predictors of treatment success was undertaken. Tuberculosis cases in the electronic tuberculosis register were retrospectively reviewed over a 10-year period, 2004-2016. The patient, programmatic, clinical and treatment predictors of treatment success were determined by multivariate logistic regression modeling using R software.
Results: 104,603 TB cases were registered at 300 DOTS sites in 37 districts. The 10-year period treatment success rate was 80%, and varied by region (77.2%-89.2%). The patient’s sex and age were not significant predictors of treatment success. The independent predictors for treatment success as were: Region of DOTS implementation (p=0.001), type of DOT supporter (p<0.001), sputum conversion at 2 months (p=0.013), DOT regimen (p<0.001), cotrimoxazole prophylaxis (p=0.002) and HIV co-infection (p=0.001).
Conclusion: Targeted programmatic, clinical and treatment interventions are required to enhance DOTS treatment success in Namibia. These are now ongoing.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 979-987 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Expert Review of Respiratory Medicine |
Volume | 12 |
Issue number | 11 |
Early online date | 4 Oct 2018 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 30 Nov 2018 |
Keywords
- DOTS program
- TB
- tuberculosis
- effectiveness