Alarming rates of attrition among tuberculosis patients in public-private facilities in Lahore, Pakistan
This was a retrospective cohort study reviewing existing programme records.
Abstract
Setting
All public-private mix (PPM) facilities caring for tuberculosis (TB) patients in Lahore city, Pakistan, under four models: PPM1 (general practitioners), PPM2 (non-governmental organisations), PPM3 (private hospitals) and PPM4 (others).
Objective
To assess the pre-treatment loss to follow-up (LTFU), defined as patients documented in the laboratory registers but not in the treatment registers of any PPM facility, among sputum smear-positive TB patients diagnosed during January–March 2015, and unfavourable treatment outcomes among patients registered for treatment and associated factors.
Design
This was a retrospective cohort study reviewing existing programme records. Poisson regression was used to identify factors associated with outcomes.
Conclusion
Pre-treatment LTFU was alarmingly high and requires urgent attention, including the development and institution of mechanisms for patient tracking using information and mobile phone technology, and making TB notification mandatory in the private sector.
This research was supported by the UK Department for International Development’s Operational Research Capacity Building Programme led by the International Union Against TB and Lung Disease (The Union)
Citation
Khan BJ, Kumar AMV., Stewart A, Khan NM, Selvaraj K, Fatima R, Samad Z. Alarming rates of attrition among tuberculosis patients in public-private facilities in Lahore, Pakistan. Public Health Action. 2017;7(2):127–33.