Trend of pulmonary tuberculosis and rifampicin-resistance among tuberculosis presumptive patients in Central Tigray, Ethiopia; 2018 -2023: a six-year retrospective study

• Published in: Tropical Diseases, Travel Medicine and Vaccines
• Main Authors: Guesh Gebremariam, Mulugeta Kiros, Selemun Hagos, Haftom Hadush, Amaha Gebremichael, Gebretsadkan Gebrekirstos, Aregawi Tesfay, Teumelsan Gebrewahid, Tesfay Berihu, Brhane Gebremariam
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2024
• Subjects: Trend; Tuberculosis; Retrospective; X-pert MTB/Rif assay; Central Tigray; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic; Rif
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40794-024-00224-1; https://doaj.org/article/32f922b213c04ee4b98bb428cb8d4a2e

Abstract Background Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health concern in the developing countries. Moreover, the emergence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is challenging. However, there are no organized data on the trends of pulmonary tuberculosis and rifampicin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the study area. Methods A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted to fill the information gap in Central Tigray at St. Mary General Hospital between 2018 and 2023. Data were collected from the GeneXpert™ tuberculosis registration logbooks using standard checklists and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science version 22. After performing logistic regression, a p-value < 0.05 with a corresponding 95% confidence interval was considered statistically significant. Moreover, chi square test for trend was performed to assess the percentage of annual detection of pulmonary tuberculosis and rifampicin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis during the study years. Result Presumptive pulmonary tuberculosis patients with complete data (n = 3696) were included in the study. The overall prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis was 11.7%, of which 8.1% were resistant to rifampicin. The study revealed that the incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis has been increasing, mainly in the recent four years. Likewise, an increase in rifampicin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis was observed with considerable fluctuations. Age, human immunodeficiency virus infection, and presumptive rifampicin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection were significantly associated with the presence of pulmonary tuberculosis. Moreover, pulmonary tuberculosis was more prevalent among participants in the productive-age group. Conclusion Although there have been fluctuations, an increasing of pulmonary tuberculosis and rifampicin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been observed in recent years. Hence, prevention and treatment strategies for tuberculosis should be strengthened to alleviate the burden of pulmonary tuberculosis ...