Socioepidemiological status and clinical outcome of MDR TB patients in a tertiary medical college in Southern Odisha

INTRODUCTION: India accounts for one-fourth of the global TB burden. The load of drug-resistant TB is of foremost attention and concern at international, regional, and national levels. As per estimates of TB burden in India in 2018, the MDR/RR-TB incidence was 1.30 lakhs. OBJECTIVES: Socioepidemiological status and clinical outcome of MDR TB patients in a teaching hospital in tribal area of southern Odisha from 2012-2020. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This is a retrospective observational study accepted by the Institutional Ethics Committee of this tertiary medical college & hospital to which the DRTB centre is attached with the agreement of the program administrators. INCLUSION CRITERIA: Patients with >15 years of age, those patients with pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis with normal liver enzymes. EXCLUSION CRITERIA: Patients having abnormal liver enzymes before treatment, pregnant ladies and children <15 years of age. RESULTS: A total of 40 MDR TB patients were included. The patients’ mean age was 36.65 ± 11.75 years. 65% of the patients had BMI below 18.5 kg/m(2). 17.5% of patients had comorbidities. Approximately 45% had successful treatment outcomes. Poor treatment outcome includes loss to follow-up in 22.5% and mortality in 12.5%. We did not find any treatment failure. CONCLUSION: Treatment success outcomes occurred in less than half of the cases. The main predictors of mortality among MDR-TB patients were the presence of comorbidities like anaemia, baseline leucocytosis or lymphopenia, hypoproteinaemia, HIV sero-positivity and smaller baseline BMI.