BackgroundTB is one of the main health priorities in Uzbekistan and relatively high rates of unfavorable treatment outcomes have recently been reported. This requires closer analysis to explain the reasons and recommend interventions to improve the situation. Thus, by using countrywide data this study sought to determine trends in unfavorable outcomes (lost-to-follow-ups, deaths and treatment failures) and describe their associations with socio-demographic and clinical factors.MethodA countrywide retrospective cohort study of all new and previously treated TB patients registered in the National Tuberculosis programme between January 2006 and December 2010.ResultsAmong 107,380 registered patients, 67% were adults, with smaller proportions of children (10%), adolescents (4%) and elderly patients (19%). Sixty per cent were male, 66% lived in rural areas, 1% were HIV-infected and 1% had a history of imprisonment. Pulmonary TB (PTB) was present in 77%, of which 43% were smear-positive and 53% were smear-negative. Overall, 83% of patients were successfully treated, 6% died, 6% were lost-to-follow-up, 3% failed treatment and 2% transferred out. Factors associated with death included being above 55 years of age, HIV-positive, sputum smear positive, previously treated, jobless and living in certain provinces. Factors associated with lost-to-follow-up were being male, previously treated, jobless, living in an urban area, and living in certain provinces. Having smear-positive PTB, being an adolescent, being urban population, being HIV-negative, previously treated, jobless and residing in particular provinces were associated with treatment failure.ConclusionOverall, 83% treatment success rate was achieved. However, our study findings highlight the need to improve TB services for certain vulnerable groups and in specific areas of the country. They also emphasize the need to develop unified monitoring and evaluation tools for drug-susceptible and drug-resistant TB, and call for better TB surveillance and coordination between provinces and neighbouring countries.

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BackgroundIn Uzbekistan, despite stable and relatively high tuberculosis treatment success rates, relatively high rates of recurrent tuberculosis have recently been reported. Recurrent tuberculosis is when a patient who was treated for pulmonary tuberculosis and cured, later develops the disease again. This requires closer analysis to identify possible causes and recommend interventions to improve the situation. Using countrywide data, this study aimed to analyse trends in recurrent tuberculosis cases and describe their associations with socio-demographic and clinical factors.MethodCountrywide retrospective cohort study comparing recurrent tuberculosis patients with all new tuberculosis patients registered within the NTP between January 2006 and December 2010 using routinely collected data. Determinants studied were baseline characteristics and treatment outcomes.ResultsOf 107,380 registered patients during the period January 2006 and December 2010, 9358 (8.7%) were recurrent cases. Between 2006 and 2008, the number of recurrent cases per annum increased from 1530 to 2081, then fell slightly thereafter from 2081 to 1888 cases. The proportion of all notified cases during this period increased from 6.5% to 9.9%. Factors associated with recurrent tuberculosis included age (35–55 years old), having smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis, residing in certain areas of Uzbekistan, having particular co-morbidities (including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and HIV), and being unemployed, a pensioner or disabled. Recurrent tuberculosis patients also had a higher likelihood of having an unfavourable treatment outcomeConclusionDespite signs of declining national tuberculosis notifications between 2006 and 2010, the relative proportion of recurrent cases appears to have increased. These findings, together with the identification of possible risk factors associated with recurrent tuberculosis, highlight various areas where Uzbekistan needs to focus its tuberculosis control efforts, particularly in light of the country’s rapidly emerging multi drug resistant tuberculosis epidemic.

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Treatment outcomes among MDR-TB patients were poor, with high rates of death, failure and loss to follow-up (including pre-treatment loss to follow-up). Urgent measures to increase ART uptake among HIV-infected MDR-TB patients, improved access to second-line anti-tuberculosis drug susceptibility testing and comprehensive patient support measures are required to address this grim situation.