Risk factors associated with pulmonary tuberculosis relapses in Cali, Colombia

Abstract

Introduction: Relapses in tuberculosis occur due to endogenous reactivations or exogenous reinfections and represent up to 27% of tuberculosis cases. Its importance lies in the risk of the appearance of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains.According to the reports published in 2011 by the Colombian Instituto Nacional de Salud, there were 572 relapse cases reported in the country, i.e., a rate of 4.9%. Data of the tuberculosis control program from the Secretaría de Salud Municipal in Cali reported a relapse rate of 6%, higher than the national one, during 2013 and 2014.Objective: To determine the risk factors associated with relapse in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in Cali.Materials and methods: We conducted an observational, analytical, and case-control study (1:1), which comprised 81 cases of pulmonary tuberculosis relapses detected in 2013 and 2014. Additionally, we collected data on socio-demographic and clinical variables, as well as lifestyle and health services, to identify the potential risk factors associated with tuberculosis relapses. We used logistic regression to identify the risk factors.Results: After adjustments for some variables, our multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the body mass index (BMI) (OR=0.90, 95%CI: 0.81–0.99) and population density (OR=0.99, 95%CI: 0.98–1.00) were inversely associated with tuberculosis relapses. Alcohol consumption increased the likelihood of tuberculosis relapse (OR=5.56, 95%CI: 1.18–26.26).Conclusions: Body mass index and population density were inversely associated with pulmonary tuberculosis relapses in Cali. On the contrary, alcohol consumption increased the likelihood of tuberculosis relapses.