Sustained positive impact on tuberculosis treatment outcomes of TB-HIV integrated care in Uganda

OBJECTIVE To examine tuberculosis (TB) treatment outcomes from a long-term TB-HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) integrated model of care at the Infectious Diseases Institute Clinic, Kampala, Uganda. METHODS We included HIV-positive adults who were new TB cases initiated on anti-tuberculosis treatment between 2009 and 2015 during TB-HIV integration. Trends in TB treatment outcomes and TB-associated deaths were analyzed using respectively the χ² trend test and Kaplan-Meier methods. RESULTS The analysis involved 1318 cases: most patients were female (>50%); the median age ranged from 34 to 36 years, and >60% were late presenters (CD4 count P P 15% over time, and the probability of death at month 2 of anti-tuberculosis treatment was 52% higher among late presenters than in early presenters (13% vs. 6%, P CONCLUSION Significant LTFU improvement and prompt ART initiation could be due to well-implemented TB-HIV integration care; however, static TB-associated deaths may be due to late presentation. .