Yuhong Liu, Yan Lin, Yuxian Sun, Pruthu Thekkur, Changhao Cheng, Yuecui Li, Yunzhen Shi, Jun Jiang, Jiong Liao, Chuangui Nie, Wenyan Sun, Chengyuan Liang, Xiaojuan Zhang, Sang Liu, Yan Ma, Selma Dar Berger, Srinath Satyanarayana, Ajay M V Kumar, Mohammed Khogali, Rony Zachariah, Jonathan E Golub, Liang Li, Anthony D Harries
Many patients with tuberculosis (TB) have comorbidities, risk determinants and disability that co-exist at diagnosis, during and after TB treatment. We conducted an observational cohort study in 11 health facilities in China to assess under routine program conditions (i) the burden of these problems at the start and end of TB treatment and (ii) whether referral mechanisms for further care were functional. There were 603 patients registered with drug-susceptible TB who started TB treatment: 84% were symptomatic, 14% had diabetes, 14% had high blood pressure, 19% smoked cigarettes, 10% drank excess alcohol and in 45% the 6 min walking test (6MWT) was abnormal...
June 26, 2023: Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease