Author(s)

Olusola Adedeji Adejumo^1*, Olusoji James Daniel², Andrew Folarin Otesanya³, Temitope Ashipa⁴, Esther Ngozi Adejumo⁵, Husseine A. Abdur-Razzaq⁶

¹Department of Community Health and Primary Health Care, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria.
²Department of Community Medicine and Primary Care, Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Ogun State, Nigeria.
³Medical Services Department Central Bank of Nigeria, Lagos, Nigeria.
⁴Department of Community Medicine, Babcock University Teaching Hospital, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria.
⁵Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Babcock University, Ilisan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria.
⁶Lagos State TB and Leprosy Control Programme, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria.

Background: This study assessed treatment interruption of tuberculosis (TB) patients managed by treatment supporters and health care workers and other predictors of treatment interruption. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted. Four hundred and seventy new smear positive TB patients above 14 years of age were consecutively recruited between October 1 and December 31 2012 from 34 (23 public and 11 private) directly observed treatment short course (DOTS) facilities that offered TB treatment and microscopy services. They were followed up till treatment was completed. Logistic regression was used to assess the predictors of treatment interruption. Results: A significantly higher proportion of smokers (58.6% vs 38.3%, p = 0.030), patients supervised by treatment supporters (44.4% vs 34.7%, p = 0.032), patients not counselled before initiation of treatment (55.6% vs 38.2%, p = 0.041), patients managed at private DOTS facilities (50% vs 36.3%, p = 0.010) and TB/HIV co-infected patients (54.2% vs 38.6%, p = 0.038) had treatment interruption. Predictors of treatment interruption were supervision by treatment supporters, smoking, lack of pre-treatment counselling and TB/HIV co-infection. Conclusion: A higher proportion of patients supervised by treatment supporters had treatment interruption than those supervised by health care workers. There may be a need to review the concept of treatment supervision by treatment supporters in Lagos state Nigeria.

Treatment Supporter, Treatment Interruption, Tuberculosis, DOTS, Nigeria

Adejumo, O. , Daniel, O. , Otesanya, A. , Ashipa, T. , Adejumo, E. and Abdur-Razzaq, H. (2016) Factors Affecting Treatment Interruption among TB Patients in Lagos Nigeria: Is There Any Need for Treatment Supporters?. International Journal of Clinical Medicine, 7, 389-398. doi: 10.4236/ijcm.2016.76042.