Interruption in tuberculosis (TB) treatment still remains the most important challenge for control of the disease. This study aimed to identify the determinants of TB treatment default in Fez, Morocco. A 1:2 pairmatched case-control study was carried out in the TB control units in Fez. Cases were defaulters to TB treatment and were matched by age and sex to non-defaulters (controls). Of the 320 patients (108 defaulters, 212 controls), 80.6% were male. The main reason for defaulting reported by patients was the sensation of being cured. Predictive factors for treatment default in the multivariate conditional logistic regression analysis, were: relapsed case (adjusted OR = 4.49; 95% CI: 1.87-10.8), current smoking (aOR = 2.10; 95% CI: 1.07-4.14), alcohol use (aOR = 2.92; 95% CI: 1.04-8.19), being more than 30 minutes away from the health centre (aOR = 3.34; 95% CI: 1.06-10.5) and perception of having received insufficient explanation about the disease (aOR = 2.87; 95% CI: 1.53-5.36). The rate of defaulting in Fez can be lowered through targeted and realistic measures.

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