Time to Treatment and Risk Factors for Unsuccessful Treatment Outcomes among People Who Started Second-Line Treatment for Rifampicin-Resistant or Multi-Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in the Kyrgyz Republic, 2021

The Kyrgyz Republic is a high-burden country for rifampicin resistant/multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (RR/MDR-TB). TB control efforts rely on early diagnosis and initiation of people on effective regimens. We studied the interval from diagnosis of RR-TB to starting treatment and risk factors for unsuccessful outcomes among people who started RR/MDR-TB treatment in 2021. We conducted a cohort study using country-wide programme data and used binomial regression to determine associations between unsuccessful outcomes and predictor variables. Of the 535 people included in the study, three-quarters were in the age category 18–59 years, and 68% had past history of TB. The median (IQR) time from onset of TB symptoms to diagnosis was 30 (11–62) days, 1 (0–4) days from diagnosis to starting treatment, and 35 (24–65) days from starting treatment to receipt of second-line drug susceptibility test (SL-DST) results. Overall, 136 (25%) had unsuccessful outcomes. Risk factors for unsuccessful outcomes were being homeless, fluroquinolone resistance, having unknown HIV status, past TB treatment, male gender and being unemployed. Treatment outcomes and the interval from diagnosis to starting treatment were commendable. Further reductions in unsuccessful outcomes by be achieved through ensuring timely diagnosis and access to SL-DSTs and by reducing the proportion of people who are lost to follow-up

“Together against Tuberculosis”: Cascade of Care of Patients Referred by the Private Health Care Providers in the Kyrgyz Republic

Until 2021, in the Kyrgyz Republic, tuberculosis (TB) was diagnosed and treated only in the public sector. With funding support of the STOP–TB partnership, the private providers in four regions of the country and Bishkek city were mapped, trained and incentivized to screen for and identify presumptive TB patients and refer them to the public facilities for diagnosis and treatment. In this study, we describe the cascade of care of such patients. This was a cohort study involving secondary analysis of routine data. Of 79,352 patients screened during February 2021–March 2022, 2511 (3%) had presumptive TB, of whom 903 (36%) were not tested for TB [pre-diagnostic loss to follow-up]. A total of 323 (13%) patients were diagnosed with TB, of whom, 42 (13%) were not started on treatment [pre-treatment loss to follow-up]. Among 257 patients eligible for outcome assessment, 197 (77%) had treatment success, 29 (11%) were lost-to-follow-up, 13 (5%) died, 4 (2%) had treatment failure and 14 (5%) were not evaluated. While this donor-funded, pioneering initiative was successful in engaging the private sector, we recommend that the national TB programme scales up the initiative nationally with dedicated budgets, activities and plans to monitor progress. Qualitative research is urgently needed to understand the reasons for the gaps in the care cascade