Characteristics of TB patients with TBCD.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, TB mortality increased while diagnoses decreased, likely due to care disruption. In March, 2020, Uganda—a country with high TB burden, implemented a COVID-19 lockdown with associated decrease in TB diagnoses. This study aims to examine patient level risk factors for disruption in TB care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda. This retrospective cross-sectional cohort study included six TB clinics in Uganda. Clustered sampling included phases of TB care and three time-periods: pre-lockdown, lockdown and post-lockdown. Characteristics of patients with TB care disruption (TBCD), defined as those with > 2 months of symptoms prior to diagnosis or who missed a TB clinic, and those without TB care disruption (non-TBCD) were analyzed between time-periods. 1,624 charts were reviewed; 1322 were contacted, 672 consented and completed phone interview; pre-lockdown (n = 213), lockdown (n = 189) and post-lockdown (n = 270). TBCD occurred in 57% (385/672) of patients. There was an increase in the proportion of urban patients in the TBCD and non-TBCD groups during post-lockdown (p研究背景：新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）大流行期间，结核病（Tuberculosis, TB）死亡率上升而诊断量下降，这大概率与诊疗服务中断有关。2020年3月，结核病负担较高的国家乌干达实施了新冠疫情封控措施，随之而来的是结核病诊断量的下滑。本研究旨在探究乌干达新冠大流行期间，结核病诊疗服务中断的患者层面危险因素。本研究为回顾性横断面队列研究，纳入了乌干达的6家结核病诊疗机构。本次研究采用整群抽样方法，按结核病诊疗阶段以及三个时间阶段：封控前、封控期及封控后进行抽样。本研究对结核病诊疗服务中断患者（TB care disruption, TBCD，定义为诊断前症状持续超过2个月或未前往结核病诊所就诊者）与未发生诊疗服务中断患者（non-TBCD）在各时间阶段的特征进行了对比分析。本次研究共回顾了1624份病历档案；其中1322名患者被联络，672名患者同意并完成了电话访谈，各时间阶段的样本量分别为：封控前（n = 213）、封控期（n = 189）、封控后（n = 270）。共有57%（385/672）的患者发生了结核病诊疗服务中断。封控后阶段，TBCD组与non-TBCD组的城市患者占比均有所上升（p