Treatment outcomes of tuberculosis among new smear-positive and retreatment cases: a retrospective study in two Egyptian governorates

Abstract

Background Tuberculosis (TB) affects millions of people every year and is considered one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide, being more than HIV/AIDS. Objective The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of directly observed treatment–short course on treatment outcomes among new smear-positive and retreatment cases of TB in two Egyptian governorates: Gharbia and Menoufia. Patients and methods This retrospective study was carried out on the records obtained from TB Registration Unit in Gharbia and Menoufia governorates. The study included the diagnosed and registered cases of new smear-positive and retreatment cases of TB during the years 2008–2013 in the two governorates. Results The total number of studied TB cases was 916 (669 males and 247 females) and 825 cases (632 males and 193 females) in Gharbia and Menoufia governorates, respectively. TB was common in rural areas compared with urban areas. The highest rate of treatment outcomes was cure rate (85.8 and 88.2% in Gharbia and Menoufia governorates, respectively) with significant decrease of failure (4 and 1.3%), death (3.3 and 1.9%), default (0.8 and 2.1%) and transfer out (1.9 and 1.9%) rates in Gharbia and Menoufia governorates, respectively. The success rates were 825 (90.1%) in Gharbia and 765 (92.7%) in Menoufia governorates. Conclusion Treatment success rates among new smear-positive and retreatment cases were 90.1 and 92.7% in Gharbia and Menoufia governorates, respectively, with low poor outcomes, which in turn indicated high efficacy and successful application of directly observed treatment–short course.

Keywords

• directly observed treatment–short course
• Gharbia
• Menoufia
• new
• pulmonary tuberculosis
• treatment outcomes