<p>Factors influencing completion of treatment among pulmonary tuberculosis patients</p>

Factors influencing completion of treatment among pulmonary tuberculosis patients Xue-Hui Fang,1 Yi-Lin Dan,2 Jie Liu,1 Lei Jun,1 Zhi-Ping Zhang,3 Xiao-Hong Kan,1 Dong-Chun Ma,1 Guo-Cui Wu41Department of Science and Education, Anhui Provincial TB Institute, Hefei, Anhui, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Tuberculosis Prevention, Anqing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Anqing, Anhui, People’s Republic of China; 4School of Nursing, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, People’s Republic of ChinaObjective: This study aimed to understand the influencing factors of treatment completion among pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients in Anhui province, eastern People’s Republic of China, in order to provide scientific evidence for improving the follow-up rate and treatment completion rate.Methods: A total of 262 PTB patients in six counties (districts) of Anhui province were investigated by questionnaire, and data about treatment interruption were collected.Results: The main causes of treatment interruption were forgetting to take medicine (24.5%), drug side effects (23.3%), and symptomatic improvement (19.5%). The education background, patient type, cause of interruption, and tracking method were factors influencing completion of treatment (all P