BACKGROUND: Health system delay (HSD) is an important issue in tuberculosis (TB) control. This report investigates HSD and associated factors in a cohort of Spanish culture-confirmed TB patients. METHODS: Data were collected from clinical records. Using logistic regression with two different cut-off points to define HSD (median and 75th percentile), adjusted odds ratios were used to estimate the association between HSD and different variables. RESULTS: A total of 5184 culture-confirmed TB cases were included. Median and 75th percentile HSD were 6 and 25 days respectively. HSD significantly greater than the median was associated with: age >44 years, past or present intravenous drug use, diagnosis at a primary-care centre, prior preventive therapy, positive histology, request for drug-sensitivity testing, presence of silicosis or neoplasia in addition to TB, presence of non-TB related symptoms, and gastrointestinal site. HSD greater than the 75th percentile was related to the same variables, with the exception of diagnosis at a primary-care centre, positive histology, silicosis, non-TB-related symptoms and gastrointestinal site, for which the association disappeared; in contrast, an association with female gender emerged. CONCLUSION: Despite free health care being universally available in Spain, there are some groups of TB patients whose treatment is unduly delayed.
BACKGROUND: Health system delay (HSD) is an important issue in tuberculosis (TB) control. This report investigates HSD and associated factors in a cohort of Spanish culture-confirmed TB patients. METHODS: Data were collected from clinical records. Using logistic regression with two different cut-off points to define HSD (median and 75th percentile), adjusted odds ratios were used to estimate the association between HSD and different variables. RESULTS: A total of 5184 culture-confirmed TB cases were included. Median and 75th percentile HSD were 6 and 25 days respectively. HSD significantly greater than the median was associated with: age >44 years, past or present intravenous drug use, diagnosis at a primary-care centre, prior preventive therapy, positive histology, request for drug-sensitivity testing, presence of silicosis or neoplasia in addition to TB, presence of non-TB related symptoms, and gastrointestinal site. HSD greater than the 75th percentile was related to the same variables, with the exception of diagnosis at a primary-care centre, positive histology, silicosis, non-TB-related symptoms and gastrointestinal site, for which the association disappeared; in contrast, an association with female gender emerged. CONCLUSION: Despite free health care being universally available in Spain, there are some groups of TB patients whose treatment is unduly delayed.
Authors: J L Álvarez; A E Kunst; M Leinsalu; M Bopp; B H Strand; G Menvielle; O Lundberg; P Martikainen; P Deboosere; R Kalediene; B Artnik; J P Mackenbach; J H Richardus Journal: Int J Tuberc Lung Dis Date: 2011-11 Impact factor: 2.373
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Authors: Vladimir N Kuznetsov; Andrej M Grjibovski; Andrej O Mariandyshev; Eva Johansson; Gunnar A Bjune Journal: Emerg Health Threats J Date: 2014-08-26
Authors: Wei-Teng Yang; Celine R Gounder; Tokunbo Akande; Jan-Walter De Neve; Katherine N McIntire; Aditya Chandrasekhar; Alan de Lima Pereira; Naveen Gummadi; Santanu Samanta; Amita Gupta Journal: Tuberc Res Treat Date: 2014-04-28
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