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Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the ten leading causes of death globally. The present study aims to examine the treatment outcomes in TB patients and to determine the factors associated with unsuccessful treatment outcomes. Materials and Methods: This study was a retrospective registry-based cohort study conducted in Ordu province of Turkey between 2017-2021. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the risk factors associated with unsuccessful outcomes. Results: A total of 400 TB patients were included in the analysis. The observed overall treatment success rate (TSR) (cured or treatment completed) was 87.7% (351). 49 patients (12.3%) had unsuccessful treatment results (death, failure or loss to follow-up). Age>65 years (odds ratio [OR] =12.2, 95% confidence intervals [CI] =4.03-36.85), male gender (OR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.05-4.45) and being foreign-born (OR = 9.2, 95% CI = 1.16-73.72) were identified as risk factors associated with unsuccessful outcomes in patients (p<0.05). Conclusions: Age>65 years, male gender and foreign-born patients tend to have unsuccessful treatment outcomes. Careful monitoring of patients with any of these characteristics and taking special precautions for them may help to decrease unsuccessful treatment outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many infectious diseases, including Tuberculosis (TB), have been put in the background with the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to evaluate the changes in the number of TB patients, the parameters of the TB patients and tuberculosis control programs in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey when compared to the previous year. Methods: All TB patients who were recorded in Samsun province between March 1, 2019 and February 28, 2021 were included in this retrospective study. The data were analyzed in 2 groups as the COVID-19 period (March 2020 and February 2021) and the Pre-COVID-19 period (March 2019 and February 2020),the demographic and microbiological characteristics of the tuberculosis patients in both periods were compared according to months and years p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The total number of TB patients was 320, although it was 172 in the Pre-COVID-19 period, it was 148 in the COVID-19 pandemic period. It was found that the TB incidence rate (IR) was 15.32%, the total number of examinations performed in TB dispensary decreased 33.54%, and the total number of contact examinations decreased by 53.54% during the pandemic period. The mean age of the patients decreased significantly during the COVID-19 period (p = 0.047), and it was found that culture positivity rates and smear positivity rates increased compared to the previous year (7.97%, p = 0.166, 1.86%; p = 0.507, respectively). SARS-CoV-2 PCR test result was found to be (−) in 46 (82.1%) of the 56 TB patients who were examined. Conclusions: In the present study, it was found that the incidence of TB, the number of examinations, and the number of contact examinations decreased at significant levels. The decrease in TB patients was mostly in the first 3 months when COVID-19 precautions and restrictions were intense. As a conclusion, it was observed that the application of TB patients to the healthcare institution and TB control were affected negatively by the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the top ten leading causes of death worldwide despite effective therapy. The present study aims to examine the characteristics of TB-related deaths in Samsun Province and to determine the risk factors. In this retrospective registry-based cohort study, the medical records of patients registered with Samsun Tuberculosis Control Dispensary between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. The Cox proportional-hazards model was used to determine the factors associated with the risk of death in patients with TB. The treatment outcomes of a total of 382 patients were reviewed. It was found that the treatment was successful in 346 patients (90.6%), and 31 patients (8.1%) died before or during TB therapy. The median survival time of patients who died during the therapy was 1.86 months (95% CI = 0.07–5.17 months), and more than 50% (13/25) of the deaths occurred in the first two months of the treatment. Age above 70 years (HR 15.06 (3.33–67.95)), male gender (HR 2.74 (1.02–7.33)), pulmonary TB (HR 2.92 (1.002–8.52)), multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (HR 1.69 (1.22–12.75)), and a delay in the treatment of more than ten days (HR 2.71 (1.22–6.04)) were identified as risk factors associated with mortality in TB patients (p < 0.05). The majority of deaths in our cohort occurred within the first two months after starting the treatment. Advanced age, male sex, a new diagnosis of TB, pulmonary TB, MDR-TB, and a treatment delay of more than ten days after diagnosis increased the risk for mortality during antituberculosis treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/aim: This study aimed to analyze delays in diagnosis and treatment by defining the related demographic and clinical factors, to reveal obstacles, and to develop essential attempts to help reduce treatment delays. Materials and methods: We created a questionnaire on the subject of delays in diagnosis and treatment in tuberculosis (TB) control to be administered to the patients. The forms were distributed to dispensaries across the country by the General Directorate of Public Health via an official letter. Results: The study included 853 new patients with smear-positive pulmonary TB. The mean patient delay was 18.06 ± 22.27 days, the mean diagnosis delay was 35.63 ± 34.86 days, and the mean treatment delay was 0.90 ± 2.39 days. We found no association between sex, age, literacy, residential location, the presence of chronic respiratory diseases, and patient delay. It was determined that patient delay was shorter for patients with hemoptysis, fever, dyspnoea, and chest pain. In women, the diagnosis delay was longer than in men. Conclusion: In the diagnosis process of patients with tuberculosis, it was determined that there was an improvement in the patient delay; however, the improvement in the diagnosis delay was still not acceptable as an ideal duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]