Article Sidebar
Article Details
Copyright remains in the Author’s name. The work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommercial Works License. Authors are required to complete and sign an Author Agreement form that outlines Author and Publisher rights and terms of publication. The Agreement form should be uploaded along with other submissions files and any submission will be considered incomplete without it [forthcoming].
Material submitted for publication in the SAMJ is accepted provided it has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Please inform the editorial team if the main findings of your paper have been presented at a conference and published in abstract form, to avoid copyright infringement. The SAMJ does not hold itself responsible for statements made by the authors.
Previously published images
If an image/figure has been previously published, permission to reproduce or alter it must be obtained by the authors from the original publisher and the figure legend must give full credit to the original source. This credit should be accompanied by a letter indicating that permission to reproduce the image has been granted to the author/s. This letter should be uploaded as a supplementary file during submission.
Main Article Content
Outcomes of treatment of drug-susceptible tuberculosis at public sector primary healthcare clinics in Johannesburg, South Africa: A retrospective cohort study
Abstract
Background. Despite the large number of tuberculosis (TB) patients treated in South Africa (SA), there are few descriptions in the published literature of drug-susceptible TB patient characteristics, mode of diagnosis or treatment outcomes in routine public sector treatment programmes.
Objective. To enhance the evidence base for public sector TB treatment service delivery, we reported the characteristics of and outcomes for a retrospective cohort of adult TB patients at public sector clinics in the Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality (JHB), SA.
Methods. We collected medical record data for a retrospective cohort of adult (≥18 years) TB patients registered between 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2012 at three public sector clinics in JHB. Data were abstracted from National TB Programme clinic cards and the TB case registers routinely maintained at study sites. We report patient characteristics, mode of diagnosis, mode of treatment supervision, treatment characteristics, HIV status and treatment outcomes for this cohort.
Results. A total of 544 patients were enrolled in the cohort. Most (86%) were new TB cases, 81% had pulmonary TB, 58% were smearpositive at treatment initiation and 71% were HIV co-infected. Among 495 patients with treatment outcomes reported, 80% (n=394) had successful outcomes, 11% (n=55) were lost to follow-up, 8% (n=40) died and 1% (n=6) failed treatment.
Conclusions. Primary healthcare clinics in JHB are achieving relatively high rates of success in treating drug-susceptible TB. Missing laboratory results were common, including follow-up smears, cultures and drug susceptibility tests, making it difficult to assess adherence to guidelines and leaving scope for substantial improvements in record-keeping at the clinics involved.
