Abstract

Determinants of lost to follow up during treatment among tuberculosis patients in Delhi

Tuberculosis ranks as the second leading cause of death from an infectious disease worldwide, after the human immunodeficiency virus. With more than two million cases of tuberculosis, India remains on top in the list of countries carrying high burden of the disease.Non-compliance to treatment is a problem in TB management as with other long termillnesses. Non- compliance to treatment leads to a major impediment to effective tuberculosis chemotherapy worldwide. A multi stratified study was conducted among 204 newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis and extra pulmonary tuberculosis patients. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information on basic socio-demographic data, Type of TB, family history of disease, socio-economic status etc. Sociodemographic data was summarized as frequencies and percentages. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine potential risk factors among patients who completed treatment compared to those who defaulted from treatment. Out of 204 TB patients, 87.3% completed their treatment and 12.7% lost to follow up during treatment regime. Univariate logistics regression revealed the significant association of default with occupation, smoking, alcohol consumption, marital status and socio-economic status. It has been found that although medicines are provided free of cost,but there are many disabling factors such as low socio-economic status, family liabilities and burden of losing income from work on male patients which contribute to lost to follow up during treatment

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