Prevalence, chronological trends and predictors of treatment outcomes among patients with tuberculosis in Southern Tunisia across two decades (1995-2016)

Introduction Tuberculosis (TB) is a communicable disease common worldwide. Influencing factors in TB outcomes include socio-demographics, as well as disease-related and treatment-related factors. This study aimed to analyze the prevalence trends of unsuccessful treatment outcomes in Southern Tunisia during 1995-2016 and to identify their risk factors. Methods This was a retrospective study including all notified cases from the tuberculosis center reporting registers in Southern Tunisia between 1995 and 2016. Results Overall, 2771 TB cases were notified. Unsuccessful treatment outcomes were noted in 196 cases (7%). Unsuccessful treatment outcome was associated with male gender (OR=1.4; p=0.023), elderly status (≥60 years, OR=2.3; p Conclusions The high prevalence of unsuccessful outcome suggested important inadequacies in the TB program. An effective strategy to improve therapeutic education of patients with TB is therefore urgently needed.