Factors associated with poor treatment outcome of tuberculosis in Debre Tabor, northwest Ethiopia

OBJECTIVE: Directly observed treatment short course has been implemented as part of the national tuberculosis control program in Ethiopia. The strategy, as evidenced by different studies, has improved the survival and treatment success rate of tuberculosis patients. However, some patients failed to complete their treatments and the factors for this failure were not assessed in the study area. We, therefore sought to identify factors associated with poor treatment outcome of tuberculosis in Debre Tabor, northwest Ethiopia. RESULTS: We included 303 patients (173 males, 130 females) with mean age of 34.9 years in the study and 39 (12.9%) patients were with poor treatment outcome over the period of 5 years (2008-2013). Being male, urban residency, positive and unknown smear result at the 2nd month of treatment and patients in the age of 35-44 years were more likely to have poor treatment outcomes than their counterparts. Patients in the new treatment category were less likely to have poor treatment outcome compared to the retreated cases. Further studies are recommended to explore the association of poor treatment outcome with other important factors which are not investigated by this study.