Treatment outcomes of drug-resistant tuberculosis in people living with HIV in Odesa province, Ukraine, 2014-2016

Introduction: Odesa province has the highest TB/HIV prevalence in Ukraine, exceeding the total prevalence in the country by 3 times. The objective of this study was to investigate the unfavorable treatment outcomes and associated factors in patient with drug-resistant (DR) TB in people living with HIV (PLH) in Odesa. Methodology: A cohort study with secondary data analysis was conducted among 373 PLH with confirmed pulmonary DR TB for 2014-2016. Results: About 2/3rd of the cohort were males from urban areas. Mean age and CD4 counts were 39 and 203, respectively. The overall treatment success was 44.2% with the most unfavorable treatment outcomes being observed in extensively and pre-extensively drug resistant (XDR and PreXDR) TB. The mean time between the results of GeneXpert (manufactured by Cepehid) and DR TB treatment based on GeneXpert was 1.3 days. However, the mean time between DR TB treatment based on GeneXpert and results of drug susceptibility test (DST) was 37.0 days referring to a late reporting of DST and to a late adjustment of previously prescribed treatment. The factors associated with the treatment unfavorable outcome included XDR and Pre-XDR TB, lack of antiretroviral treatment (ART), contrimoxazole preventive therapy (CPT) and CD4 test. Conclusions: The rate of successful DR TB treatment in PLH in Odesa remains low. The delayed reporting of DST contributes to lack of timely adjusted treatments. XDR and Pre-XDR TB, lack of ART and CPT are associated with unfavorable treatment outcomes. Additional studies would help to understand the temporal relationship between CD4 test and treatment outcomes.