| Abstract [eng] |
Tuberculosis (TB) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are two main epidemics of the 21st century. TB remains a major public health problem in Lithuania and the country is among the 18 high-priority countries listed by World Health Organization (WHO). TB is the most common AIDS-indicative disease in Lithuania. Since 2015 the incidence of TB among AIDS-indicative diseases in Lithuania is the highest in the European Union - >50 percent. The aim of this retrospective study was to assess the socio-demographic, clinical characteristics, and their relationship with TB outcomes in TB HIV coinfected population in Lithuania. Cases of active TB among HIV infected patients reported to the State Information System of Tuberculosis in the period of 2009-2019 were included in this study. TB cases and treatment outcomes were defined according to the WHO Definitions and the reporting framework of tuberculosis. Analysis of the collected data was done with Epidata (v.3.1) and Stata SE (v.15.1) programs. Multivariable logistic regression was used to study the factors associated with multidrug-resistant-TB (MDR-TB) and unsuccessful treatment outcomes. Results were considered statistically significant when the p-value was <0,05. In this TB-HIV-infected adult group, intravenous drug use (IDU) and alcohol abuse, known to be risk factors for TB, were very frequent. Alcohol abuse and IDU were associated with MDR-TB. Predictors of unsuccessful treatment outcome were drug-resistant TB, extra-pulmonary TB, and previous treatment failure and loss to follow-up. According to published literature, TB HIV coinfection results in worse treatment outcomes than separate infections. Furthermore, the number of MDR-TB cases are increasing and is a current problem in Lithuania and in other countries with high incidence of TB. There is a wide variety of risk factors of MDR-TB, which partly depend on each country’s populations socio-economic status. |
