C28-03 High Prevalence of Persistent Tuberculosis-related Symptoms 6 Months After Treatment in Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Abstract Background The frequency and determinants of persistent symptoms after microbiological cure remain incompletely defined. Our study aimed to determine the prevalence and frequency of persistent symptoms 6 months after treatment initiation and identify the associated predisposing factors. Methods We analyzed data from the prospective COSMOTB cohort, enrolling adults treated for pulmonary tuberculosis at three Korean tertiary hospitals (2016-2018). Demographic, clinical and radiographic data and a standardized symptom checklist were recorded at the initial, 2-, and 6-month visit. Symptom persistence was defined as any tuberculosisrelated symptom at 6-month visit. Results Among 354 participants (61% men, mean age of 58.5 ± 19.4 years), symptom prevalence fell from 80.2 % at baseline to 25.1 % at 6 months. Cough (14.4 %) and dyspnea (7.6 %) were the most frequent residual complaints. Independent predictors of persistent symptoms were being a foreigner (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 5.586; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.618-19.28), having chronic lung disease (aOR, 5.034; 95% CI, 1.995-13.26), presence of TB-related symptoms at 2 months (aOR, 3.195; 95% CI, 1.833-5.685), and bilateral infiltration on chest X-ray (aOR, 1.933; 95% CI, 1.018-3.650) in the multivariate analysis. Conclusions A significant proportion of patients suffer from TB-related symptoms even 6 months after treatment initiation. This abstract is funded by: This work was supported by the Research Program funded by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (2025E200100).