Double trouble: tuberculosis and substance abuse in Nagaland, India.
This report describes treatment outcomes in people using or injecting illicit drugs who received treatment for drug-susceptible TB
Abstract
The diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) in people who use and/or inject illicit drugs (PWUIDs) remains a barrier to achieving universal coverage for TB in India and globally.
This report describes treatment outcomes in PWUIDs who received treatment for drug-susceptible TB at the Mon District Hospital in Nagaland, India, during 2012–2013. The median age of the patients was 39 years, and most (92%) were male. Two thirds (33/49) of the patients had a successful TB treatment outcome. A previous TB episode and residence in a semi-urban area were associated with unsuccessful treatment outcomes. Separate diagnostic and treatment algorithms, including regular adherence counselling and opioid substitution therapies, should be considered for PWUIDs.
With a staggering estimated 2.2 million cases of active tuberculosis (TB) annually, India is home to more than a quarter of the 8.6 million TB cases estimated to occur each year around the world.1 India’s Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) has adopted many strategies to achieve universal coverage of TB treatment among vulnerable population groups, including injectable drug users (IDUs). However, the diagnosis and treatment of active TB in substance abusers, also known as people who use and/or inject illicit drugs (PWUIDs), remains a challenge in the fight to eliminate TB in India.
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
R. Shenoy, M. Das, H. Mansoor, R. Anicete, L. Wangshu, S. Meren, I. Ao,P. Saranchuk, A. J. Reid, P. Isaakidis (2015) Double trouble: tuberculosis and substance abuse in Nagaland, India. Public Health Action. 5(3): 180–182. doi: 10.5588/pha.15.0019
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Double trouble: tuberculosis and substance abuse in Nagaland, India