Ensuring continuous TB treatment across Asian borders

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Mid-treatment cross-border migration of patients with TB increases the risk of treatment interruption. OBJECTIVE: To establish a cross-border referral process for patients with TB in Japan, and enhance their access to health facilities and treatment outcomes. DESIGN: This prospective cohort study describes and assesses the process of foreign-born patients with TB who returned to their home countries during treatment, focusing on their access to healthcare facilities and treatment outcomes. RESULTS: We enrolled 135 foreign-born patients with TB, and confirmed that 112 (83.0%) were referred to and accessed healthcare facilities after returning to their home countries. Of 102 patients due to complete treatment as of July 2023, 87 (85.3%) completed their treatment. We did not identify significant differences in the treatment success rate among patient characteristics, except between the patients with confirmed access to a healthcare facility and those without (P 80%; however, we should further improve this proportion by confirming the treatment outcomes with official data.

Keywords

• migrants
• tuberculosis patient care
• referral
• treatment outcome
• loss to follow-up