A retrospective study of tuberculosis outcomes in Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea

Abstract

Setting: Gulf Province, a rural area of mainland Papua New Guinea, is known to have one of the highest burdens of tuberculosis (TB) in the country.

Objectives: To describe the characteristics and outcomes of TB patients registered for first-line treatment in Kerema General Hospital in Gulf Province between January and December 2016.

Design: This was a retrospective cohort study using routinely collected programme data.

Results: Of 347 cases with a recorded TB site, 54% were male and 32% were aged <15 years. No human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status was recorded for 51% of cases. TB was bacteriologically confirmed in 23% of cases. Among the cohort, there were 145 extrapulmonary TB cases (42%); the site of disease was unknown in 56% of these cases. Of the 297 cases with treatment outcome evaluated, 56% had a favourable outcome and 26% were lost to follow-up. On multivariable analysis, extrapulmonary TB (adjusted OR [aOR] 0.51, 95%CI 0.30–0.88, P = 0.02) and bacteriologically confirmed TB (aOR 0.40, 95%CI 0.21–0.77, P < 0.01) were associated with decreased odds of an unfavourable treatment outcome.

Conclusion: The study findings highlight the need to improve TB diagnosis, access to HIV testing, treatment adherence, patient support and the quality of TB programme data in Gulf Province.