Time-to-Treatment Initiation in a Decentralised Community-Care Model of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Management in the OR Tambo District Municipality of South Africa

Background: Drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) continues to challenge global efforts toward eradicating and having a tuberculosis-free world. Considering the high early mortality, especially among HIV-infected individuals, early diagnosis and prompt initiation of effective treatment are needed to significantly reduce mortality and halt transmission of DR-TB in the community. Aim: This study aims to assess the effectiveness of a community DR-TB care model with the specific objective of determining the Time-to-treatment initiation of DR-TB among patients in the OR Tambo district municipality. Methods: A prospective cohort study of patients with DR-TB was conducted in the OR Tambo district municipality of Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Patients were enrolled as they presented for treatment initiation at the decentralised facilities following a diagnosis of DR-TB and compared with a centralised site. Results: A total of 454 DR-TB patients from six facilities between 2018 and 2020 were included in the analysis. The mean age was 37.54 (SD = 14.94) years. There were slightly more males (56.2%) than females (43.8%). Most of the patients were aged 18–44 years (67.5%), without income (82.3%). Results showed that slightly over thirteen percent (13.4%) of patients initiated treatment the same day they were diagnosed with DR-TB, while 36.3% were on the time-to-treatment target of being initiated within 5 days. However, about a quarter (25.8%) of patients failed to initiate treatment two weeks after diagnosis. Time-to-treatment initiation (TTTI) varied according to the decentralised sites, with progressive improvement with each successive year between 2018 and 2021. No demographic factor was significantly associated with TTTI. Conclusion: Despite rapid diagnosis, only 36% of patients were initiated on treatment promptly. Operational challenges remained, and services needed to be reorganised to maximise the exceptional potentials that a decentralised community DR-TB care model brings.