ArticleGlobal health action2024
Low body mass index as a predictor of sputum culture conversion and treatment outcomes among patients receiving treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Lesotho.
Article in Global health action, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Clinical effects of detailed nursing management interventions on medication adherence and disease perception in patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis.World journal of clinical cases · 2024Trial
- Body mass index (BMI) at RR-TB diagnosis as an independent predictor of treatment outcomes: a retrospective analysis.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in Eritrea: a retrospective cohort analysis of mortality and associated factors (2013 - 2023).Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Article
- Risk Factors for Treatment Failure of Drug-Susceptible Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Lithuania over 22 Years.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Article
- Tuberculosis treatment failure: what are the risk factors? A comprehensive literature review.Multidisciplinary respiratory medicine · 2025Article
- Article
- Characteristics and treatment outcomes of adolescents and young adults living with HIV with drug-resistant tuberculosis co-infection in Uganda: a retrospective cohort study.Therapeutic advances in infectious diseaseArticle
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16 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundA low body mass index (BMI) at the start of treatment for rifampicin- or multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/RR-TB) is associated with poor treatment outcomes and may contribute to delayed sputum culture conversion, thereby prolonging the period of potential transmission to others. Whether the relative importance of low BMI in predicting treatment outcomes differs by HIV status is unclear.
objectivesWe evaluated the association between low BMI and two dependent variables, sputum culture conversion and end-of-treatment outcome, among patients receiving treatment for MDR/RR-TB in Lesotho, a setting with a high prevalence of HIV infection.
methodsSecondary data from a prospective cohort of patients initiating a longer (18-20 months) treatment containing bedaquiline and/or delamanid under routine programmatic conditions in Lesotho were analysed. Risk ratios and differences were adjusted for potential confounders using multivariable logistic regression, and estimates were stratified by HIV status.
resultsOf 264 patients, 105 and 250 were eligible for culture conversion and end-of-treatment analyses, respectively. Seventy-one per cent of patients (74/105) experienced culture conversion within six months, while 74% (184/250) experienced a favourable end-of-treatment outcome. Low BMI was associated with a lower frequency of culture conversion at six months among those who were not living with HIV (relative risk [RR]: 0.50 [95% CI: 0.21, 0.79]); this association was attenuated among those living with HIV (RR: 0.88 [95% CI: 0.68, 1.23]). A low BMI was moderately associated with a lower frequency of treatment success (RR = 0.89 [95% CI: 0.77, 1.03]), regardless of HIV status.
conclusionsLow BMI was common and associated with the frequency of six-month culture conversion and end-of-treatment outcomes. The association with culture conversion was more pronounced among those not living with HIV. Addressing the myriad factors that drive low BMI in this setting could hasten culture conversion and improve end-of-treatment outcomes. This will require a multipronged approach focused on alleviating food insecurity and enabling prompt diagnosis and treatment of HIV and TB.
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