The Study of the Possible Program-related Factors Contributing to Drug Resistance in Tuberculosis Patients

Background and aim: The prolonged duration of treatment, the need for multiple drugs, adverse drug reactions, and socioeconomic factors are the main reasons for non-adherence to treatment for tuberculosis which can lead to drug resistance, risk of transmission, and death. Understanding the factors for drug resistance in tuberculosis (TB) patients is essential. This study assesses the factors contributing to drug resistance in tuberculosis patients.Material and methods: This is a cross-sectional study done on 198 patients diagnosed with drug-resistance tuberculosis (DRTB) at the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal were included.Results: In this study, 71.7% of study participants were male; the majority of patients were of age group 30-40 years (36.4%) and of BMI lt;18.5 (59.6%), and 37.9% were educated up to middle school. In this study, inadequate training of health care workers, no direct benefit transfer to the patient, and improper counseling were found statistically significant (p value lt;0.05) as possible factors leading to DRTB. In contrast, the increased distance of residence from the drug distribution center and the non-availability of drugs had no significant correlation (p-value gt;0.05).Conclusions: The study concludes that the above possible factors contributing to drug resistance should be considered in high-risk group TB patients. It can be done through proper training of health care workers, transferring the direct benefits entitled to the TB patients on time, and ensuring the availability of drugs around the year.