Predictors of Death in Rifampicin Resistant Tuberculosis Patients Treated with the Short Course in Conakry, Guinea

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The emergence of rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (RR-TB) is a major issue for TB control programs due to high risk of treatment failure and death. The objective of this study was to describe survival and to determine predictors of death in RR-TB patients treated with the short regimen (9–11 months) in the Conakry TB treatment centers. Sociodemographic, clinical, and survival data were collected prospectively between 2016 and 2021 on RR-TB patients in the Department of Pneumo-Phtisiology, the Carrière and the Tombolia TB centers. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to estimate the cumulative incidence of death of patients. The Cox regression model was used to identify the predictors independently associated with death. Of 869 patients, 164 (18.9%) patients died during treatment, 126 of them within 120 days of treatment initiation. The factors associated with death during treatment were as follows: patients treated in the Carrière TB center (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 1.65; 95% CI: 1.06–2.59) and in the Department of Pneumo-Phtisiology (aHR = 3.26; 95% CI: 2.10–5.07), patients ≥ 55 years old (aHR = 4.80; 95% CI: 2.81–8.19), patients with no history of first-line TB treatment (aHR = 1.51; 95% CI: 1.05–2.16), and patients living with HIV (aHR = 2.81; 95% CI: 1.94–4.07). The results of this study can help the national TB control program to reconsider its therapeutic strategy to improve patient care in case of RR-TB. Large prospective clinical studies should be conducted to provide evidence of the impact of such factors like previous history of TB treatment and HIV infection on survival of RR-TB patients.