Treatment outcomes in patients infected with Multidrug-resist ant tuberculosis and in patients With multidrug-resistant tuberculosis coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus at Brewelskloof hospital.

Abstract

Many studies have reported low cure rates for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB) patients and MDR- TB patients co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, little is known about the effect of HIV infection and antiretroviral therapy on the treatment outcomes of MDR- TB in South Africa. Therefore, the objectives of the study are: to find out whether HIV infection and interactions between ARVs and second line anti- TB drugs have an impact on the following MDR- TB treatment outcomes: cure rate and treatment failure at Brewelskloof Hospital. MDR- TB patients were treated for 18-24 months.

The study was designed as a case-control retrospective study companng MDR-TB treatment outcomes between HIV positive (cases) and HIV negative patients (controls). Patients were included in the study only if they complied with the following criteria: sensitivity to second line anti-TB drugs, MDR-TB infection, co-infection with HIV (for some of them), male and female patients, completion of treatment between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2008. Any patients that presented with extreme drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) were excluded from the study.

Data were retrospectively collected from each patient's medical records. There were a total of 336 patients of which 242 (72%) were MDR-TB patients and 94 (27.9%) MDRTB co-infected with HIV patients. Out of the 242 MDR-TB patients, 167 (69.2%) were males and 75 (30.7%) were females. Of the 94 patients with MDR-TB co-infected with HIV, 51 (54.2%) males and 43 (45.7%) females.