FACTOR ASSOCIATED WITH UNFAVOURABLE TREATMENT OUTCOME AMONG ADULT TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS IN AGRA: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Background: Tuberculosis has remained a disease of public health importance since ages and is known to inflict large quantum of socioeconomic cost on the society. Risk of TB is high among population living in poverty, low socioeconomic groups, low income, immune-suppressed, and extreme age groups, certain ethnicity, migrants, and those exposed to animals.1,2Factors that delay diagnosis similarly increase the length of exposure to an infectious TB patient. Malnutrition increases the susceptibility to disease3,4.

Aims and Objectives: In our study we identified the sociodemographic factor, knowledge and perception of the subjects about the disease that will cause the unfavourable treatment outcome.

Material and Methods:The study was cross sectional study and conducted at designated microscopic centre of Sarojni Naidu medical college Agra.Total number of patients registered during the period of July to September 2017 were taken. Two follow up were done during the course of treatment.

Result: The overall success rate (cure plus completed) in our study was 80.0%. The subjects who had no knowledge regarding curability have more unfavourable treatment outcome (43.7%) as compare to those subjects who had knowledge of curability (15.73%) (p value=0 .009).

Conclusion: Symptomatic relief by medicine, side effect and forgetfulness of medicine directly affected the treatment outcome.