Compliance of latent tuberculosis infection treatment in a cohort of TB contacts

Background: Compliance with the treatment of Latent Tuberculous Infection (ITL) is a determining factor in the control of tuberculosis. The objective of this study was to estimate the acceptance and compliance of the ITL treatment, and associated factors in contacts of patients with tuberculosis in Lleida. Design: Epidemiological analytical observational study, of a retrospective cohort follow-up, since the 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2016. The Participants were contacts of patients with tuberculosis in Lleida. Variables of the index case and independent and dependent variables (acceptance and compliance of the treatment) of contacts were studied through univariate and bivariate analysis. The strength of association was studied with odds ratio (OR) and confidence interval (IC) of 95% they were adjusted by a multivariate regression model. Results: 69.1% of tuberculosis cases had a contact study, and 47.5% had at least one contact with prescription of preventive treatment. The treatment was accepted by 94.5% of contacts, and only 70.3% finalized this treatment. The completion was more frequent in patients who knew the meaning of latent tuberculosis infection treatment (ORa: 2.0; CI: 95% 1.0-4.1). Conclusions: There was a positive influence of having knowledge of the meaning of the infection and its treatment. Primary Care should be involved in providing more and better health education in order to improve therapeutic compliance.