Loss to follow-up in tuberculosis treatment and its relationship with patients' knowledge of the disease and other associated factors

Abstract

When compared to controls, cases undergoing TB retreatment after loss to follow-up have less knowledge on the disease, which is a sign for the professionals responsible for health education of the need to invest more time and efforts in activities that help the patient understand the disease and its treatment, as well as to have higher levels of adherence. In addition, noncompliance with the follow-up consultation deadline, failure to attend consultations during the current treatment and smoking are also factors that may be influenced by poor knowledge on the disease, which leads to the treatment loss to follow-up.

Loss to Follow-Up (LTFU) during Tuberculosis Treatment

“…Brazilian researchers have found out that less than 8 years of schooling increases the risk of LTFU [4]. In addition, scarce TB knowledge is a risk factor for LTFU [75], and better TB knowledge a protective factor [5]. Therefore, health education and proper counseling should always be at the heart of every anti-TB treatment program.…”

“…LTFU is also associated with alcohol abuse, tobacco use, smoking, and illicit drug use. Association between alcoholism and LTFU was observed in India [77], Philippines [5], and Congo [74], tobacco use in Georgia [41], smoking in Brazil [75], and illicit drug use in Norway [30], Georgia [41], and the UK [81]. Therefore, before initiating treatment, personal history should be carefully taken to find out these risk factors, and special attention should be given to such patients.…”

Establishing a cohort in a developing country: Experiences of the diabetes-tuberculosis treatment outcome cohort study

“…Researchers in a developing country like Pakistan seldom undertake cohort studies, which explains the dearth of information on retention and tracking strategies employed, and challenges encountered in such studies. It has been established that diabetes is a determinant of loss to follow up among patients undergoing treatment for tuberculosis [ 15 ]. This may be attributed to financial constraints and high pill burden, which hinders the co-infected patients arrival at health facility for follow up visits [ 16 ].…”

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors on Utilizing Mobile Health Technology for TB in Indonesia: A Qualitative Pilot Study

“…In Indonesia, in particular, the incidence, and by consequence, the human and financial cost of TB infections remains extremely high ( 7 ). Some of the factors that cause loss to medical follow-up have been described in previous studies ( 8 – 11 ). Besides that, adherence to treatment completion is lower when patients have a negative treatment experience, e.g., when access to care involves substantial travel time, lost earnings, and other patient expenditures; when adverse drug reactions are frequent or consequential; or conversely, when patients feel better, and their motivation to finish treatment declines ( 12 ).…”