BackgroundSouth Africa has a large burden of rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (RR-TB), with 18,734 patients diagnosed in 2014. The number of diagnosed patients has increased substantially with the introduction of the Xpert MTB/RIF test, used for tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis for all patients with presumptive TB. Routine aggregate data suggest a large treatment gap (pre-treatment loss to follow-up) between the numbers of patients with laboratory-confirmed RR-TB and those reported to have started second-line treatment. We aimed to assess the impact of Xpert MTB/RIF implementation on the delay to treatment initiation and loss to follow-up before second-line treatment for RR-TB across South Africa.Methods and findingsA nationwide retrospective cohort study was conducted to assess second-line treatment initiation and treatment delay among laboratory-diagnosed RR-TB patients. Cohorts, including approximately 300 sequentially diagnosed RR-TB patients per South African province, were drawn from the years 2011 and 2013, i.e., before and after Xpert implementation. Patients with prior laboratory RR-TB diagnoses within 6 mo and currently treated patients were excluded. Treatment initiation was determined through data linkage with national and local treatment registers, medical record review, interviews with health care staff, and direct contact with patients or household members. Additional laboratory data were used to track cases. National estimates of the percentage of patients who initiated treatment and time to treatment were weighted to account for the sampling design.There were 2,508 and 2,528 eligible patients in the 2011 and 2013 cohorts, respectively; 92% were newly diagnosed with RR-TB (no prior RR-TB diagnoses). Nationally, among the 2,340 and 2,311 new RR-TB patients in the 2011 and 2013 cohorts, 55% (95% CI 53%–57%) and 63% (95% CI 61%–65%), respectively, started treatment within 6 mo of laboratory receipt of their diagnostic specimen (p < 0.001). However, in 2013, there was no difference in the percentage of patients who initiated treatment at 6 mo between the 1,368 new RR-TB patients diagnosed by Xpert (62%, 95% CI 59%–65%) and the 943 diagnosed by other methods (64%, 95% CI 61%–67%) (p = 0.39). The median time to treatment decreased from 44 d (interquartile range [IQR] 20–69) in 2011 to 22 d (IQR 2–43) in 2013 (p < 0.001). In 2013, across the nine provinces, there were substantial variations in both treatment initiation (range 51%–73% by 6 mo) and median time to treatment (range 15–36 d, n = 1,450), and only 53% of the 1,448 new RR-TB patients who received treatment were recorded in the national RR-TB register.This retrospective study is limited by the lack of information to assess reasons for non-initiation of treatment, particularly pre-treatment mortality data. Other limitations include the use of names and dates of birth to locate patient-level data, potentially resulting in missed treatment initiation among some patients.ConclusionsIn 2013, there was a large treatment gap for RR-TB in South Africa that v...

Background: Patient-centered care is pillar 1 of the "End TB" strategy, but little has been documented in the literature about what this means for people living with rifampicin-resistant (RR-TB). Optimizing care for such individuals requires a better understanding of the challenges they face and the support they need. Methods: A qualitative study was done among persons living with RR-TB and members of their support network. A purposive sample was selected from a larger study population and open-ended interviews were conducted using a semi-standard interview guide. Interviews were recorded and transcribed and the content analyzed using an iterative thematic analysis based in grounded theory. Results: 16 participants were interviewed from three different provinces. Four distinct periods in which support was needed were identified: 1) pre-diagnosis; 2) pre-treatment; 3) treatment; and 4) post-treatment. Challenges common in all four periods included: socioeconomic issues, centralized care, and the need for better counseling at multiple levels. Conclusions: Beyond being a "very humiliating illness", RR-TB robs people of their physical, social, economic, psychological, and emotional well-being far beyond the period when treatment is being administered. Efforts to tackle these issues are as important as new drugs and diagnostics in the fight against TB.

In 2011, the South African National TB Programme launched a policy of decentralized management of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) in order to expand the capacity of facilities to treat patients with DR-TB, minimize delays to access care and improve patient outcomes. This policy directive was implemented to varying degrees within a rapidly evolving diagnostic and treatment landscape for DR-TB, placing new demands on already-stressed health systems. The variable readiness of district-level systems to implement the policy prompted questions not only about differences in health systems resources but also front-line actors’ capacity to implement change in resource-constrained facilities. Using a grounded theory approach, we analysed data from in-depth interviews and small group discussions conducted between 2016 and 2018 with managers (n = 9), co-ordinators (n = 15), doctors (n = 7) and nurses (n = 18) providing DR-TB care. Data were collected over two phases in district-level decentralized sites of three South African provinces. While health systems readiness assessments conventionally map the availability of ‘hardware’, i.e. resources and skills to deliver an intervention, a notable absence of systems ‘hardware’ meant that systems ‘software’, i.e. health care workers (HCWs) agency, behaviours and interactions provided the basis of locally relevant strategies for decentralized DR-TB care. ‘Software readiness’ was manifest in four areas of DR-TB care: re-organization of service delivery, redressal of resource shortages, creation of treatment adherence support systems and extension of care parameters for vulnerable patients. These strategies demonstrate adaptive capacity and everyday resilience among HCW to withstand the demands of policy change and innovation in stressed systems. Our work suggests that a useful extension of health systems ‘readiness’ assessments would include definition and evaluation of HCW ‘software’ and adaptive capacities in the face of systems hardware gaps.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the medical, socio-economic and geographical profiles of patients with rifampicin-resistant TB (RR-TB) and the implications for the provision of patient-centred care.SETTING: Thirteen districts across three South African provinces.DESIGN: This descriptive study examined laboratory and healthcare facility records of 194 patients diagnosed with RR-TB in the third quarter of 2016.RESULTS: The median age was 35 years; 120/194 (62%) of patients were male. Previous TB treatment was documented in 122/194 (63%) patients and 56/194 (29%) had a record of fluoroquinolone and/or second-line injectable resistance. Of 134 (69%) HIV-positive patients, viral loads were available for 68/134 (51%) (36/68 [53%] had viral loads of >1000 copies/ml) and CD4 counts were available for 92/134 (69%) (20/92 [22%] had CD4 <50 cells/mm3). Patients presented with varying other comorbidities, including hypertension (13/194, 7%) and mental health conditions (11/194, 6%). Of 194 patients, 44 (23%) were reported to be employed. Other socio-economic challenges included substance abuse (17/194, 9%) and ill family members (17/194, 9%). Respectively 13% and 42% of patients were estimated to travel more than 20 km to reach their diagnosing and treatment-initiating healthcare facility.CONCLUSIONS: RR-TB patients had diverse medical and social challenges highlighting the need for integrated, differentiated and patient-centred healthcare to better address specific needs and underlying vulnerabilities of individual patients.

SETTING: Thirteen districts in Eastern Cape (EC), KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and Western Cape (WC) Provinces, South Africa.OBJECTIVE: To pilot a methodology for describing and visualising healthcare journeys among drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) patients using routine laboratory records.DESIGN: Laboratory records were obtained for 195 patients with laboratory-detected rifampicin-resistant TB (RR-TB) during July–September 2016. Health facility visits identified from these data were plotted to visualise patient healthcare journeys. Data were verified by facility visits.RESULTS: In the 9 months after the index RR-TB sample was collected, patients visited a mean of 2.3 health facilities (95% CI 2.1–2.6), with 9% visiting ≥4 facilities. The median distance travelled by patients from rural areas (116 km, interquartile range [IQR] 50–290) was greater than for urban patients (51 km, IQR 9–140). A median of 21% of patient's time was spent under the care of primary healthcare facilities: this was respectively 6%, 37% and 39% in KZN, EC and WC. Journey patterns were generally similar within districts. Some reflected a semi-centralised model of care where patients were referred to regional hospitals; other journeys showed greater involvement of primary care.CONCLUSION: Routine laboratory data can be used to explore DR-TB patient healthcare journeys and show how the use of healthcare services for DR-TB varies in different settings.