Adherence of drug-resistant tuberculosis patients to treatment in Tashkent, 2019-2020

Poor adherence tо drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) treatment is а well known public health problem worldwide. Exploration of factors associated with low DR-TB treatment adherence is important for improving the care of the patients. The aim of this study was to assess the adherence of DR-TB patients during the intensive phase of hospital treatment by using the validated eight-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) and to study the socio-demographic and clinical factors associated with treatment adherence. A total of 179 DR-TB patients were included in study. This was an analytical cross-sectional study exploring period of 2019-2020. Data was collected from patients’ histories and using the MMAS-8. Among 141 patients who were answered questionnaire the high level of DR-TB treatment adherence was observed in 19%, average level was in 40% and low in 41% of patients (Figure). The analysis showed that socio-demographic variables like of being older, lack of family, alcohol user were significantly related to average and low adherence. Clinical factors such as relapse DR-TB and cases with focal, disseminated and fibrocavernous types of DR-TB were also associated with average and low DR-TB treatment adherence. Future research on DR-TB treatment adherence is needed to find potential causes for increasing adherence to DR-TB treatment.