TB treatment delay associated with drug resistance and admission at Daru General Hospital in Papua New Guinea

Setting Daru General Hospital, Daru Island, Papua New Guinea, where high rates of tuberculosis (TB) have been reported. Prompt diagnosis and effective treatment are needed for improving TB outcomes and to prevent nosocomial transmission. Objective To assess the time to treatment initiation and the risk factors associated with delayed treatment for patients started on TB treatment at Daru General Hospital from January to September 2017. Design This was a retrospective cohort study that entailed reviewing the records from treatment, admission, discharge and presumptive TB registers. Results The study included 360 patients on TB treatment. The median time from presentation to treatment initiation was 7 days [IQR 3-11]. Treatment was started P = 0.005) and having drug-resistant TB (OR 2.65, 95% CI 1.5-4.68. P = 0.001). Conclusion A high proportion of TB patients commenced treatment 3 days from presentation to treatment initiation be considered as delayed treatment initiation.