Trend and Spatial Distribution of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in Liberty-Deprived Populations in the State of Paraná, Brazil

Abstract

(1) Background: Tuberculosis remains a public health problem in the world. This study evaluated the temporal trends, distribution, and spatial associations of drug-resistant tuberculosis in liberty-deprived populations in the state of Paraná, Brazil. (2) Methods: An ecological study was developed using all cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis in penal establishments reported by the Brazilian Notifiable Diseases Information System between 2008 and 2018. For the time trend, the Prais–Winsten method was used. To verify the spatial association, the Getis–Ord Gi* technique was used. (3) Results: During the study period, 653 cases of tuberculosis were reported in the studied population, of which 98 (15%) were drug-resistant. Prais–Winsten autoregression identified an increasing trend, with APC = 15.08% (95% CI: 0.02–0.09) from 2008 to 2018; when analyzed from 2012 to 2018, the trend increased even more, with APC = 23.31% (95% CI: 0.01–0.16). Hotspots were also noted in the north, east, and west macro-regions of the state. (4) Conclusions: The presence of drug-resistant tuberculosis, as well as an increasing trend of these cases, was evidenced in all regions of the state among liberty-deprived populations,. The spatial analysis revealed priority areas for drug-resistant tuberculosis in penal establishments.