PREVALENCE OF TUBERCULOSIS IN SOUTH-WEST ROMANIA AND THE DIRECT COSTS BURDEN

Antituberculotic treatment has the purpose to rapidly stop transmission and to prevent relapse, in order to further reduce the tuberculosis (TB) burden and development of resistant bacterial strains. Romania had the highest TB incidence among EU countries and since 2018, an active TB screening program has been introduced among vulnerable populations. The aim of this study was to identify all the patients diagnosed with TB in Dolj County, Romania, in 2018 and to evaluate their characteristics, as well as to estimate the amounts reimbursed by the National Health Insurance Fund, based on the data reported by the hospitals from Dolj, Romania. The treatment was analysed through descriptive statistics for hospitalized cases based on a principal diagnosis of TB which received continuous care in 2018. In Dolj County, 6378 people, with a mean age of 39 30.42 years, were infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in 2018. More than a half were males (3,723 -58%) and 2,655 -42% were females. The prevalence of TB in Dolj County in 2018 was 1.01%. The treatment outcomes of TB patients were: 1,441 (22.6%) cured, 5,036 (78.9%) treatment completed, 25 (0.4%) died, 47 (0.7%) failed and 163 (2.6%) interrupted. The number of those with treatment failed and treatment interrupted represents an unfavourable treatment outcome and it was less than 210 patients (3.3%) in 2018, which is a very good indicator compared with the 85% World Health Organization (WHO) target of TB treatment success. In order to evaluate TB control strategies, it is essential to trace TB incidence, prevalence and mortality, but also to comprehend treatment outcomes.