Treatment Outcomes of Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Retrospective Cohort Study of Gomoa West District, Ghana

Abstract

Background: The study reviewed background characteristics of patients being treated for Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Ghana. The review indicated that the disease was endemic in deprived regions. Gomoa West District in the Central Region of Ghana, one such region, was chosen for the study. Methods: A retrospective cohort study on all files of patients diagnosed of Pulmonary Tuberculosis either by smear or radiography in the district during the period January 2010 to December 2015 were studied. Socio-demographic and clinical variables of cases were extracted from case files as well as their treatment outcomes at the end of six months’ therapy. Patients who were transferred out, re-treated, including resistance Tuberculosis and extra-pulmonary cases were excluded from the study. Chi-square and Fisher exact tests were used to analyze the data. A logistic regression analysis was used to calculate crude and adjusted ratio of successful treatment outcome at a 95% confidence interval. Results: The Pulmonary Tuberculosis treatment success for the district in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 were 94.2%, 87.59%, 94.4% and 92.1% respectively. Prevalent rate of Pulmonary Tuberculosis was highest amongst fisher folks and those in age group 65 years and above. Conclusions: The study concluded that improving Pulmonary Tuberculosis treatment outcomes requires qualitative information on factors associated with treatment outcomes that quantitative data does not reveal; so as to develop specific interventional strategies since general intervention might not be suitable for all cases considering the diverse characteristics of Tuberculosis patients. Interventions among age group 65 years and above will potentially improve treatment outcomes by 22.2% in Gomoa Oguaa. Keywords: Pulmonary Tuberculosis, Radiography, treatment outcomes, co-morbidities