Abstract
Introduction: Early diagnosis and immediate initiation of treatment are essential to break the tuberculosis transmission chain. In Portugal, time between the onset of symptoms and the diagnosis of the disease remains very high (median 80 days). Although there is no consensus regarding the acceptable delay from the onset of symptoms to the beginning of treatment, it is essential to identify the determinants of this delay. In literature, being a woman, smear-negative and a smoker are described as risk factors for tuberculosis diagnosis delay.
Objectives: Quantify the delay between onset of symptoms and initiation of treatment of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and assess associated epidemiological and risk factors.
Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study with data collected from 41 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis followed in our tuberculosis center between 2012-2016. A two-sample t-test and a Cox Proportional-Hazards Model were used to compare the collected variables to the time from onset of symptoms until diagnosis.
Results: Mean times were lower for men (67 vs 85 days), positive smear (67,2 vs 92,6 days) and HIV-positive patients (48,0 vs 75,4 days). There were no statistically significant differences between the categorical variables studied and the time of symptoms until diagnosis. Although not significant, our model revealed that being HIV-positive could be a “protective factor” favouring a lower diagnostic delay (HR=0.56 CI 95% [0.209-1.497]). Conversely being a female can be associated with a higher delay in diagnosis (HR=1.25 CI95% [0.616-2.543]).
Conclusion: Our study concluded that the presence of HIV might be considered as a “protective factor”, as described in other studies in Portugal.
Footnotes
Cite this article as: European Respiratory Journal 2020; 56: Suppl. 64, 494.
This abstract was presented at the 2020 ERS International Congress, in session “Respiratory viruses in the "pre COVID-19" era”.
This is an ERS International Congress abstract. No full-text version is available. Further material to accompany this abstract may be available at www.ers-education.org (ERS member access only).
- Copyright ©the authors 2020