Drug resistance status and risk factors in elderly tuberculosis patients in Ninghai County of Zhejiang Province from 2016 to 2020

ObjectiveTo analyze drug resistance status and risk factors in elderly tuberculosis patients in Ninghai County of Zhejiang Province， and to provide basis for prevention and control of drug-resistant tuberculosis.MethodsClinical data were collected from 142 elderly tuberculosis patients （with positive sputum culture） who were diagnosed and treated in medical institutions in Ninghai from 2016 to 2020. The risk factors of drug resistance were analyzed by Chi-square test and logistic regression model.ResultsThe overall drug resistance rate was 33.80%， and the drug resistance rate in patients with recurrent pulmonary tuberculosis was significantly higher than that in patients with initial pulmonary tuberculosis， and the difference was statistically significant. Multivariate unconditional logisitic regression analysis showed that irregular medication and disease recurrence were independent risk factors for multidrug resistance in the elderly patients.ConclusionThe drug resistance rate in elderly tuberculosis patients in Ninghai is high. It is necessary to strengthen the management and supervision of tuberculosis in the community， and to carry out effective health education and visit for elderly patients， especially for newly treated patients， and to avoid treatment failure caused by irregular medication and interruption of treatment.