TREATMENT EFFECTIVENESS IN PATIENTS WITH TB/HIV CO-INFECTION AND MENTAL ILLNESS

Objective: to evaluate the impact of mental illness (MI) on the effectiveness of TB treatment in TB/HIV co-infected cases. Materials and methods. We carried out a comparative analysis of TB treatment effectiveness in 162 cases: 94 TB/HIV cases with MI and 68 TB/HIV cases without MI. We studied clinical, radiological, and immunological characteristics of cases, drug susceptibility data, the volume of TB treatment, concomitant diseases, and the structure of adverse events.Results. The effectiveness of treatment based on sputum conversion by the end of the inpatient phase was twice lower in MI cases compared to cases without MI – 31.6 and 69.0% respectively. The similar ratio between the groups was established for cavity closure – 38.1 and 60% respectively. The lethality rate was 2.5 times higher in TB/HIV cases with MI compared to TB/HIV cases – 17 and 7.4% respectively. Conclusion. The obtained results witness a significant negative impact of MI on the effectiveness of TB treatment in TB/HIV co-infected cases. The development of individualized programmes for managing this category of patients is required.