Conference abstract
Epidemiology of Pediatric Tuberculosis and factors associated with unsuccessful treatment outcomes in the Centre Region of Cameroon: a three-year retrospective cohort study
Pan African Medical Journal - Conference Proceedings. 2023:18(128).03
Oct 2023.
doi: 10.11604/pamj-cp.2023.18.128.2238
Archived on: 03 Oct 2023
Contact the corresponding author
Keywords: Treatment outcomes, pediatric, tuberculosis, retrospective study
Oral presentation
Epidemiology of Pediatric Tuberculosis and factors associated with unsuccessful treatment outcomes in the Centre Region of Cameroon: a three-year retrospective cohort study
Thomas Achombwom Vukugah1,&, Derick Akompab Akoku2, Micheline Mekemnang Tchoupa3, Edward Lambert4
1Jhpiego, Yaounde, Cameroon, 2Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, USA, 3Ministry of Public Health, Yaoundé, Cameroon, 4Atlantic International University, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
&Corresponding author
Introduction: in Cameroon, there is limited data on treatment outcomes of pediatric tuberculosis (TB). We sought to identify the factors associated with unsuccessful treatment outcomes and the risk factors for mortality among children receiving TB treatment in the Centre region of Cameroon. The objective was to identify the factors associated with unsuccessful treatment outcomes among children on TB treatment.
Methods: this was a multi-center facility-based retrospective cohort study using routinely collected programmatic data. All children <15 years old treated for TB between 2018 and 2020 in 21 health facilities were included. We assessed risk factors for experiencing an unsuccessful treatment outcome and mortality through multivariable logistic regression analysis.
Results: of the 610 children with TB, 307 (50.3%) were females and the median age was 6 years (IQR=2-12). Unsuccessful treatment outcomes were experienced by 122 (20.0%) children. Of these, 73 (12.0%) died, 4 (0.6%) had treatment failure, 25 (4.1%) were lost to follow-up, and the outcomes of 20 (3.3%) children were not evaluated. HIV-positive status (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =2.43; 95% CI, 1.55-3.80, p<0.001), clinical method of TB diagnosis (AOR = 2.46; 95%CI, 1.55-3.91, p<0.001] were associated with unsuccessful treatment outcomes. HIV-positive status and clinical method of TB diagnosis were the risk factors for mortality among children on TB treatment.
Conclusion: the study found that HIV-TB co-infected children and those clinically diagnosed with TB were significantly more likely to have had unsuccessful TB treatment outcomes and mortality. Our findings underscore the need for healthcare workers to closely monitor and support HIV-TB co-infected children on TB treatment. TB/HIV collaborative activities should be strengthened by implementing TB preventive interventions among HIV-infected children.
Epidemiology of Pediatric Tuberculosis and factors associated with unsuccessful treatment outcomes in the Centre Region of Cameroon: a three-year retrospective cohort study
Thomas Achombwom Vukugah1,&, Derick Akompab Akoku2, Micheline Mekemnang Tchoupa3, Edward Lambert4
1Jhpiego, Yaounde, Cameroon, 2Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, USA, 3Ministry of Public Health, Yaoundé, Cameroon, 4Atlantic International University, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
&Corresponding author
Introduction: in Cameroon, there is limited data on treatment outcomes of pediatric tuberculosis (TB). We sought to identify the factors associated with unsuccessful treatment outcomes and the risk factors for mortality among children receiving TB treatment in the Centre region of Cameroon. The objective was to identify the factors associated with unsuccessful treatment outcomes among children on TB treatment.
Methods: this was a multi-center facility-based retrospective cohort study using routinely collected programmatic data. All children <15 years old treated for TB between 2018 and 2020 in 21 health facilities were included. We assessed risk factors for experiencing an unsuccessful treatment outcome and mortality through multivariable logistic regression analysis.
Results: of the 610 children with TB, 307 (50.3%) were females and the median age was 6 years (IQR=2-12). Unsuccessful treatment outcomes were experienced by 122 (20.0%) children. Of these, 73 (12.0%) died, 4 (0.6%) had treatment failure, 25 (4.1%) were lost to follow-up, and the outcomes of 20 (3.3%) children were not evaluated. HIV-positive status (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =2.43; 95% CI, 1.55-3.80, p<0.001), clinical method of TB diagnosis (AOR = 2.46; 95%CI, 1.55-3.91, p<0.001] were associated with unsuccessful treatment outcomes. HIV-positive status and clinical method of TB diagnosis were the risk factors for mortality among children on TB treatment.
Conclusion: the study found that HIV-TB co-infected children and those clinically diagnosed with TB were significantly more likely to have had unsuccessful TB treatment outcomes and mortality. Our findings underscore the need for healthcare workers to closely monitor and support HIV-TB co-infected children on TB treatment. TB/HIV collaborative activities should be strengthened by implementing TB preventive interventions among HIV-infected children.
