Factors associated with failure to complete isoniazid therapy for latent tuberculosis infection in children and adolescents

Factors associated with incomplete tuberculosis preventive treatment: a retrospective analysis of six-years programmatic data in Cambodia

Tuberculosis (TB) preventive treatment (TPT) effectively prevents the progression from TB infection to TB disease. This study explores factors associated with TPT non-completion in Cambodia using 6-years programmatic data (2018-2023) retrieved from the TB Management Information System (TB-MIS). Out of 14,262 individuals with latent TB infection (LTBI) initiated with TPT, 299 (2.1%) did not complete the treatment. Individuals aged between 15-24 and 25-34 years old were more likely to not complete the treatment compared to those aged < 5 years old, with aOR = 1.7, p = 0.034 and aOR = 2.1, p = 0.003, respectively. Individuals initiated with 3-month daily Rifampicin and Isoniazid (3RH) or with 6-month daily Isoniazid (6H) were more likely to not complete the treatment compared to those initiated with 3-month weekly Isoniazid and Rifapentine (3HP), with aOR = 2.6, p < 0.001 and aOR = 7, p < 0.001, respectively. Those who began TPT at referral hospitals were nearly twice as likely to not complete the treatment compared to those who started the treatment at health centers (aOR = 1.95, p = 0.003). To improve TPT completion, strengthen the treatment follow-up among those aged between 15 and 34 years old and initiated TPT at referral hospitals should be prioritized. The national TB program should consider 3HP the first choice of treatment.

The impact of screening for tuberculosis exposure in the household in children with tuberculosis disease: A difficult riddle to solve

BACKGROUND

Tuberculosis (TB) infection is transmitted by sharing the same airway with people with active TB. Children are often not considered the source of TB bacilli, and index case investigation is carried out after diagnosis. Here, we describe the impact of the presence of a household index case on childhood TB disease.

METHODS

The data of patients aged between 1 month and 18 years who were diagnosed with TB were collected. We compared patients according to whether they had an index case in the household or not.

RESULTS

A total of 202 TB patients were enrolled, of whom 62 (30.7%) had a household index case. There was no significant difference in having a household index case between TB patients under the age of five (23.3%) and older children (33.8%) (p = .140). Pulmonary TB was present in 61.4% of the cases, and extrapulmonary TB was present in 38.6% of the cases. The rate of patients who had a household index case was significantly higher in pulmonary TB (46.8%) compared to extrapulmonary TB (5.1%) (p < .001). Pulmonary TB patients with a history of household contact were more likely to have diagnostic radiological findings (93.1%) compared to those without (75.8%) (p = .009). However, pulmonary TB patients without household contact history had a higher rate of diagnostic microbiological findings (59.1%) and constitutional symptoms (63.6%) (p = .019 and p = .013, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Household contact research is an important epidemiological tool. However, considering the contact rates in the household, new and more comprehensive public health programs are required to prevent the spread of childhood tuberculosis.

The burden of tuberculosis among adolescents and young adults in five Asian countries from 1990 to 2019

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have shown that the risk of tuberculosis (TB) increases dramatically during adolescence. The objective of this article was to analyze the burdens and trends of TB incidence and mortality rates in Asian adolescents and young adults.

METHODS

Time series ecological study of TB incidence and mortality rates of adolescents and young adults aged 10-24 years from 1990 to 2019, using data extracted from the Global Burden of Disease website for 5 Asian countries. The annual percentage change was calculated by joinpoint regression analysis to estimate the trends in the age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) and age-standardized death rate (ASDR).

RESULTS

The highest ASIR per 100,000 person-years in 2019 was in Mongolia [74 (95% uncertainty interval (UI), 51 to 105)], while the lowest was in Japan [4 (95% UI, 2 to 6)]. The highest ASDR per 100,000 person-years was in Mongolia [2 (95% UI, 1 to 3)], while the lowest was in Japan [0.009 (95% UI, 0.008 to 0.010)]. As the absolute number of cases and deaths decreased from 1990 to 2019, the ASIRs and ASDRs in all five countries also decreased.

CONCLUSIONS

Our finding revealed that although all five countries in Asia experienced descending TB incidence and mortality trend in past three decades, the trends were especially significant in developed countries and varied across geographic regions. This study may be crucial in helping policymakers make decisions and allocate appropriate resources to adolescent TB control strategies.

Factors associated with isoniazid preventive treatment interruption and completion among PLHIV in Gombe Hospital, Uganda, 2017–2019

Background

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death in persons living with HIV (PLHIV). PLHIV carry a disproportionate burden of TB infection with risks 20-37 times greater than HIV-negative populations. While isoniazid preventive treatment (IPT) is regarded as a crucial component of HIV care to prevent active TB, the uptake among PLHIV remains very poor. Studies on the factors associated with IPT interruption and completion among PLHIV in Uganda are scarce. Thus, in Gombe Hospital in Uganda, this study assessed the factors associated with IPT interruption and completion among PLHIV.

Methods

This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study that used both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection from January 3rd, 2020 to February 28th, 2020. We reviewed the medical records of 686 PLHIV who received IPT at Gombe Hospital from January 1st, 2017 to December 31st, 2019. Binary logistic and modified Poisson regression were used to analyze factors associated with IPT completion and interruption. We conducted 7 key informant interviews and 14 in-depth interviews.

Results

Second-line antiretroviral therapy (AOR = 46, p < 0.001) and age ≥ 45 years (AOR = 0.2, p = 0.040) were significantly associated with IPT interruption, while attending routine ART counseling sessions (APR = 1.5, p < 0.001) and prescription for ≥ 2 months at the start of IPT (APR = 1.1, p = 0.010) were associated with IPT completion. Barriers to IPT completion included pill burden, forgetfulness, poor integration of IPT in HIV healthcare services, and lack of awareness of IPT, while facilitators were easy accessibility of IPT and support from implementing partners.

Conclusions

Side effects and pill burden were the major barriers to the long-term completion of IPT. Supplying ≥ 2 months IPT drugs, using IPT drugs with fewer side effects, and counseling during IPT could improve IPT completion and reduce IPT interruption.

Social Determinants of Adherence to Treatment for Tuberculosis Infection and Disease Among Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults: A Narrative Review

Global efforts to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) must address the unique barriers that children (ages 0 through 9 years) and adolescents/young adults (AYA; ages 10 through 24 years) face in adhering to treatment for TB infection and disease. We conducted a narrative review to summarize current knowledge on the social determinants of treatment adherence among these age groups to guide efforts and policy to address their unique needs. Our findings revealed that research on TB treatment adherence among children and AYA is still in its nascent stage. The current literature revealed structural/community-, health system-, household-, and individual-level factors that influence treatment adherence and varied with developmental stage. There is a need to develop multilevel interventions to address the unique challenges that children and AYA face in adhering to TB treatment.

Caregivers' knowledge and perceptions are associated with children's TB preventive treatment completion

SETTING

Forty-six health centers in south Lima, Peru.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the association between caregivers' knowledge and perceptions around isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) and whether their children complete IPT.

DESIGN

We conducted a retrospective medical record review of children who initiated IPT during 2017-2018. We administered structured surveys to caregivers of the children about their knowledge about and perceptions of IPT. We used a modified Poisson regression to determine factors associated with IPT completion.

RESULTS

We included 550 children, of whom 31% did not complete IPT. Independent factors associated with not completing IPT were low caregiver knowledge about TB and IPT (adjusted risk ratio [aRR] 1.41, 95% CI 1.06-1.78), low caregiver perception of the importance of IPT (aRR 1.76, 95% CI 1.30-2.39), low caregiver satisfaction with the health services (aRR 1.57, 95% CI 1.14-2.16), experience of adverse events (aRR 2.08, 95% CI 1.51-2.87), and living in a household with moderate or severe family dysfunction (aRR 1.53, 95% CI 1.07-2.19).

CONCLUSION

IPT completion among children was associated with the knowledge and perceptions of their caregivers, as well as the experience of adverse events. To improve IPT completion among children, health care providers should prioritize education and counseling for caregivers, promote positive interpersonal relationships with them, and monitor adverse events.

A scoping review of paediatric latent tuberculosis infection care cascades: initial steps are lacking

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Identifying and treating children with latent tuberculosis infection (TB infection) is critical to prevent progression to TB disease and to eliminate TB globally. Diagnosis and treatment of TB infection requires completion of a sequence of steps, collectively termed the TB infection care cascade. There has been no systematic attempt to comprehensively summarise literature on the paediatric TB infection care cascade.

METHODS

We performed a scoping review of the paediatric TB infection care cascade. We systematically searched PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane and Embase databases. We reviewed articles and meeting abstracts that included children and adolescents ≤21 years old who were screened for or diagnosed with TB infection, and which described completion of at least one step of the cascade. We synthesised studies to identify facilitators and barriers to retention, interventions to mitigate attrition and knowledge gaps.

RESULTS

We identified 146 studies examining steps in the paediatric TB infection care cascade; 31 included children living in low-income and middle-income countries. Most literature described the final cascade step (treatment initiation to completion). Studies identified an array of patient and caregiver-related factors associated with completion of cascade steps. Few health systems factors were evaluated as potential predictors of completion, and few interventions to improve retention were specifically tested.

CONCLUSIONS

We identified strengths and gaps in the literature describing the paediatric TB infection care cascade. Future research should examine cascade steps upstream of treatment initiation and focus on identification and testing of at-risk paediatric patients. Additionally, future studies should focus on modifiable health systems factors associated with attrition and may benefit from use of behavioural theory and implementation science methods to improve retention.

Unnoticed Adverse Effect of Isoniazid during Childhood Tuberculosis Preventive Treatment: Hyperuricemia

Objective Isoniazid for 6 to 9 months is the most widely used form of tuberculosis (TB) preventive treatment. We aimed to assess the adverse effects of isoniazid by using the serum levels of aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), and uric acid (SUA) in children and adolescents receiving long-term isoniazid for latent TB infection.

Methods The study included children ≤18 years of age who underwent TB preventive treatment with isoniazid (IPT) between 2015 and 2019 at a university hospital. Serum transaminase, SUA, urea, and creatinine levels of patients were measured before the initiation of IPT, 15th day, and once a month during treatment. Patients with ALT, AST, or SUA results above cut-off levels during treatment were evaluated. The final values in follow-up were included in the data analysis.

Results A total of 141 children who underwent IPT were included. In total, 70 children had family members with confirmed TB disease, and 71 children had a positive tuberculin skin test. SUA increased above cut-off values in 16 children (11.3%), and half of them had uric acid levels over 7 mg/dL. The median duration of the development of hyperuricemia was 4.0 months. ALT or AST increased above cut-off values in 23 children (16.3%). ALT was above cut-off values in seven patients, AST was high in 20 patients. The median duration to the development of AST and/or ALT levels above cut-off was 4.0 months. Two patients had hepatotoxic transaminase levels. Three patients had both elevated transaminases and SUA levels.

Conclusion Isoniazid may also cause hyperuricemia besides elevation in transaminases in children.

Addressing Latent Tuberculosis Infection Treatment Through a Collaborative Care Model With Community Pharmacies and a Health Department

Introduction

The objective of this study was to evaluate a novel collaborative care model using community pharmacies as additional access points for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) treatment for patients using combination weekly therapy with isoniazid and rifapentine (3HP) plus directly observed therapy for 12 weeks.

Methods

This prospective pilot study included adult patients diagnosed with LTBI. Patients were eligible for study participation if they spoke English or Spanish and were followed by the New Mexico Department of Health (NM DOH). Patients were excluded if they were pregnant, receiving concomitant HIV antiretroviral therapy, or had contraindications to 3HP due to allergy or drug interactions. Community pharmacy sites included chain, independent, and hospital outpatient pharmacies in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Results

A total of 40 patients initiated treatment with 3HP and were included. Most were female (55%) and had a mean age of 46 years (standard deviation, 12.6 y). A total of 75.0% of patients completed LTBI treatment with 3HP in a community pharmacy site. Individuals of Hispanic ethnicity were more likely to complete treatment (76.7% vs 40.0%, P = .04). Most patients (60%; n = 24) reported experiencing an adverse drug event (ADE) with 3HP therapy. Patients who completed treatment were less likely to experience an ADE than patients who discontinued treatment (50.0% vs 90.0%, P = .03). Pharmacists performed 398 LTBI treatment visits (40 initial visits, 358 follow-up visits), saving the NM DOH approximately 143 hours in patient contact time.

Conclusion

High completion rates and safe administration of LTBI treatment can be achieved in the community pharmacy setting.

Adolescent tuberculosis

Adolescence is characterised by a substantial increase in the incidence of tuberculosis, a known fact since the early 20th century. Most of the world's adolescents live in low-income and middle-income countries where tuberculosis remains common, and where they comprise a quarter of the population. Despite this, adolescents have not yet been addressed as a distinct population in tuberculosis policy or within tuberculosis treatment services, and emerging evidence suggests that current models of care do not meet their needs. This Review discusses up-to-date information about tuberculosis in adolescence, with a focus on the management of infection and disease, including HIV co-infection and rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis. We outline the progress in vaccine development and highlight important directions for future research.

Tuberculosis susceptibility and protection in children

Children represent both a clinically important population susceptible to tuberculosis and a key group in whom to study intrinsic and vaccine-induced mechanisms of protection. After exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, children aged under 5 years are at high risk of progressing first to tuberculosis infection, then to tuberculosis disease and possibly disseminated forms of tuberculosis, with accompanying high risks of morbidity and mortality. Children aged 5-10 years are somewhat protected, until risk increases again in adolescence. Furthermore, neonatal BCG programmes show the clearest proven benefit of vaccination against tuberculosis. Case-control comparisons from key cohorts, which recruited more than 15 000 children and adolescents in total, have identified that the ratio of monocytes to lymphocytes, activated CD4 T cell count, and a blood RNA signature could be correlates of risk for developing tuberculosis. Further studies of protected and susceptible populations are necessary to guide development of novel tuberculosis vaccines that could facilitate the achievement of WHO's goal to eliminate deaths from tuberculosis in childhood.

Latent Tuberculosis and Current Health Disparities in California: Making the Invisible Visible

Tuberculosis (TB) continues to have devastating consequences for patients both globally and locally, with disease risk concentrated in specific subgroups defined by race, ethnicity, and nativity. We highlight TB disparities in California in 2016, and describe opportunities to reduce disparities by scaling up screening and treatment of latent TB infection (LTBI) in primary care settings. Primary impediments to mainstreaming LTBI screening and treatment and reducing TB disparities include poor understanding of patient-level barriers, knowledge gaps on the part of health care providers, and insufficient promotion of effective testing and treatment strategies. To overcome these barriers, efforts should focus on finding and engaging high-risk patients and the providers who serve them, as well as enabling health care systems to adopt recommended strategies for testing and treatment through improved dissemination of policy, tracking and measuring LTBI outcomes, and reducing financial barriers to LTBI treatment.

Impact of nursing interventions on adherence to treatment with antituberculosis drugs in children and young people: A nonrandomized controlled trial

AIM

To evaluate the association of a new nursing intervention on the adherence to antituberculosis treatment in a paediatric cohort (<18 years).

BACKGROUND

Tuberculosis remains a public health problem worldwide. The risk of developing tuberculosis after primary infection and its severity are higher in children. Proper adherence to antituberculosis treatment is critical for disease control.

DESIGN

Nonrandomized controlled trial; Phase 1, retrospective (2011-2013), compared with Phase 2, prospective with intervention (2015-2016), in a referral centre for paediatric tuberculosis in Spain (NCT03230409).

METHODS

A total of 359 patients who received antituberculosis drugs after close contact with a smear-positive patient (primary chemoprophylaxis) or were treated for latent tuberculosis infection or tuberculosis disease were included, 261 in Phase 1 and 98 in Phase 2. In Phase 2, a new nurse-led intervention was implemented in all patients and included two educational steps (written information in the child's native language and follow-up telephone calls) and two monitoring steps (Eidus-Hamilton test and follow-up questionnaire) that were exclusively carried out by nurses.

RESULTS

Adherence to antituberculosis treatment increased from 74.7% in Phase 1% to 87.8% in Phase 2 (p = 0.014; Chi-square test), after the implementation of the nurse-led intervention. In Phase 2, nonadherence was only associated with being born abroad (28.6% vs. 7.8%; p = 0.019; Chi-square test) and with foreign origin families (27.3% vs. 0%; p < 0.0001; Chi-square test).

CONCLUSION

The nurse-led intervention was associated to an increase in adherence to antituberculosis treatment. Immigrant-related variables remained major risk factors for sub-optimal adherence in a low-endemic setting.

Adherence to Antituberculosis Drugs in Children and Adolescents in A Low-Endemic Setting: A Retrospective Series

Adherence to antituberculosis drug regimens is critical for the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis in pediatrics. In a large retrospective series of children and adolescents in Barcelona, Spain, completion of treatment was worse among patients treated for latent infection, compared with those treated for active tuberculosis or receiving primary chemoprophylaxis. Toxicity and cultural and language barriers were identified as predictors of nonadherence.

Treatment of Latent Tuberculosis Infection

There are approximately 56 million people who harbor Mycobacterium tuberculosis that may progress to active tuberculosis (TB) at some point in their lives. Modeling studies suggest that if only 8% of these individuals with latent TB infection (LTBI) were treated annually, overall global incidence would be 14-fold lower by 2050 compared to incidence in 2013, even in the absence of additional TB control measures. This highlights the importance of identifying and treating latently infected individuals, and that this intervention must be scaled up to achieve the goals of the Global End TB Strategy. The efficacy of LTBI treatment is well established, and the most commonly used regimen is 9 months of daily self-administered isoniazid. However, its use has been hindered by limited provider awareness of the benefits, concern about potential side effects such as hepatotoxicity, and low rates of treatment completion. There is increasing evidence that shorter rifamycin-based regimens are as effective, better tolerated, and more likely to be completed compared to isoniazid. Such regimens include four months of daily self-administered rifampin monotherapy, three months of once weekly directly observed isoniazid-rifapentine, and three months of daily self-administered isoniazid-rifampin. The success of LTBI treatment to prevent additional TB disease relies upon choosing an appropriate regimen individualized to the patient, monitoring for potential adverse clinical events, and utilizing strategies to promote adherence. Safer, more cost-effective, and more easily completed regimens are needed and should be combined with interventions to better identify, engage, and retain high-risk individuals across the cascade from diagnosis through treatment completion of LTBI.

Optimizing the management of children with latent tuberculosis infection

INTRODUCTION

The management of latent tuberculosis (LTBI) in children represents an important issue for paediatricians because of the disease burden, the lack of a gold standard for the diagnosis and the high annual risk of progression to active disease. Areas covered: A review of English language articles on LTBI in children, published between the 1st of January 2010 and the 1st of July 2016, was conducted using multiple keywords and standardized terminology in PubMed database. This review provides an updated overview of the available tests for LTBI diagnosis in children, management strategies and treatment options. Expert commentary: Two tests are available for LTBI diagnosis: tuberculin skin test and interferon-gamma release assays, both with a suboptimal specificity and sensitivity, and both with the lack of capability in distinguishing between infection and disease. Several new markers have been identified but further studies are needed. Among all treatment regimes, because of the high safety and efficacy profile showed and to avoid the poor completion rate, the treatment with a three-month course of isoniazid and rifampicin is currently recommended. New vaccines are needed because of the spread of the disease despite BCG vaccination in high risk countries. Currently, 15 new vaccines are in the pipeline.

Beyond pills and tests: addressing the social determinants of tuberculosis

Poverty drives tuberculosis (TB) rates but the approach to TB control has been disproportionately biomedical. In 2015, the World Health Organization's End TB Strategy explicitly identified the need to address the social determinants of TB through socio-economic interventions. However, evidence concerning poverty reduction and cost mitigation strategies is limited. The research described in this article, based on the 2016 Royal College of Physicians Linacre Lecture, aimed to address this knowledge gap. The research was divided into two phases: the first phase was an analysis of a cohort study identifying TB-related costs of TB-affected households and creating a clinically relevant threshold above which those costs became catastrophic; the second was the design, implementation and evaluation of a household randomised controlled evaluation of socio-economic support to improve access to preventive therapy, increase TB cure, and mitigate the effects of catastrophic costs. The first phase showed TB remains a disease of people living in poverty - 'free' TB care was unaffordable for impoverished TB-affected households and incurring catastrophic costs was associated with as many adverse TB treatment outcomes (including death, failure of treatment, lost to follow-up and TB recurrence) as multidrug resistant (MDR) TB. The second phase showed that, in TB-affected households receiving socio-economic support, household contacts were more likely to start and adhere to TB preventive therapy, TB patients were more likely to be cured and households were less likely to incur catastrophic costs. In impoverished Peruvian shantytowns, poverty remains inextricably linked with TB and incurring catastrophic costs predicted adverse TB treatment outcome. A novel socio-economic support intervention increased TB preventive therapy uptake, improved TB treatment success and reduced catastrophic costs. The impact of the intervention on TB control is currently being evaluated by the Community Randomized Evaluation of a Socio-economic Intervention to Prevent TB (CRESIPT) study.

Interventions for improving adherence to treatment for latent tuberculosis infection: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) control relies on high initiation and completion rates of preventive treatment to preclude progression to tuberculosis disease. Specific interventions may improve initiation and completion rates. The objective was to systematically review data on determinants of initiation, adherence and completion of LTBI treatment, and on interventions to improve initiation and completion.

METHODS

A systematic review of the literature (PubMed, Embase) published up to February 2014 was performed. Relevant prospective intervention studies were assessed using GRADE.

RESULTS

Sixty-two articles reporting on determinants of treatment initiation and completion were included and 23 articles on interventions. Determinants of LTBI treatment completion include shorter treatment regimen and directly observed treatment (DOT, positive association), adverse events and alcohol use (negative association), and specific populations with LTBI (both positive and negative associations). A positive effect on completion was noted in intervention studies that used short regimens and social interventions; mixed results were found for intervention studies that used DOT or incentives.

CONCLUSION

LTBI treatment completion can be improved by using shorter regimens and social interventions. Specific needs of the different populations with LTBI should be addressed taking into consideration the setting and condition in which the LTBI treatment programme is implemented.

Initiation and completion rates for latent tuberculosis infection treatment: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Control of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is an important step towards tuberculosis elimination. Preventive treatment will prevent the development of disease in most cases diagnosed with LTBI. However, low initiation and completion rates affect the effectiveness of preventive treatment. The objective was to systematically review data on initiation rates and completion rates for LTBI treatment regimens in the general population and specific populations with LTBI.

METHODS

A systematic review of the literature (PubMed, Embase) published up to February 2014 was performed.

RESULTS

Forty-five studies on initiation rates and 83 studies on completion rates of LTBI treatment were found. These studies provided initiation rates (IR) and completion rates (CR) in people with LTBI among the general population (IR 26-99 %, CR 39-96 %), case contacts (IR 40-95 %, CR 48-82 %), healthcare workers (IR 47-98 %, CR 17-79 %), the homeless (IR 34-90 %, CR 23-71 %), people who inject drugs (IR 52-91 %, CR 38-89 %), HIV-infected individuals (IR 67-92 %, CR 55-95 %), inmates (IR 7-90 %, CR 4-100 %), immigrants (IR 23-97 %, CR 7-86 %), and patients with comorbidities (IR 82-93 %, CR 75-92 %). Generally, completion rates were higher for short than for long LTBI treatment regimens.

CONCLUSION

Initiation and completion rates for LTBI treatment regimens were frequently suboptimal and varied greatly within and across different populations.

Managing tuberculosis infection in children in the USA: an update

The rate of tuberculosis (TB) disease has steadily declined in the last two decades in the USA, and over two-thirds of all cases now occur in foreign-born persons. Further declines in the incidence of TB will be most impacted by identifying and treating persons with TB infection. However, difficulties in accessing care, poor specificity of diagnostic tests and long courses of therapy historically have led to suboptimal screening of groups at high risk for infection, false-positive test results from cross-reaction with the bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccine and low treatment completion rates, respectively. This article reviews newer testing and treatment strategies for TB infection emphasizing risk and benefits of testing and treating.

Influence of nursing interventions on adherence to treatment with antituberculosis drugs in children and young people: research protocol

AIM

To evaluate the efficacy of nursing interventions on adherence to antituberculosis medication in a paediatric cohort (aged 0-18 years) and to identify the risk factors for non-compliance.

BACKGROUND

After primary infection, children have a higher risk of developing tuberculosis and the severity of the disease is worse in children. Adherence to treatment is essential to control both latent infection and tuberculosis disease.

DESIGN

Phase 1: retrospective descriptive analysis (n = 270) in children and young people receiving antituberculosis treatment. Phase 2: quasi-experimental, longitudinal, prospective study (n = 100). The results of the two phases will be compared.

METHODS

Phase 1: in children followed up during the period 2011-2013 (non-intervention group), the level of adherence and its associated epidemiological, sociocultural and clinical risk factors will be analysed. Phase 2: educational (written information in the child's mother tongue and follow-up telephone calls) and monitoring (Eidus-Hamilton test and follow-up questionnaire) nursing interventions will be implemented. The results of the two phases will be compared. The definitive Nurse-led Follow-up Programme will then be designed. This project was funded in October 2013.

DISCUSSION

The risk factors for poor adherence to antituberculosis therapy need to be identified to optimize treatment success in latent tuberculosis infection and disease in children and young people. Simultaneous application of several educational and monitoring methods in nurse-led follow-up shall improve adherence in children and adolescents in our setting. These results may also be applicable in other settings, where tuberculosis is more prevalent and directly observed treatment strategies are not available.