PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - McKenna C. Eastment
AU  - Adelaide H. McClintock
AU  - Christy M. McKinney
AU  - Masahiro Narita
AU  - Alexandra Molnar
TI  - Factors That Influence Treatment Completion for Latent Tuberculosis Infection
AID  - 10.3122/jabfm.2017.04.170070
DP  - 2017 Jul 01
TA  - The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Medicine
PG  - 520--527
VI  - 30
IP  - 4
4099  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/30/4/520.short
4100  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/30/4/520.full
SO  - J Am Board Fam Med2017 Jul 01; 30
AB  - Introduction: The aim of this study is to describe factors associated with noncompletion of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) therapy.Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of adults who initiated LTBI treatment with isoniazid, rifampin, or isoniazid-rifapentine at 5 clinics. Demographic, treatment, and monitoring characteristics were abstracted. We estimated descriptive statistics and compared differences between completers and noncompleters using t tests and χ2 tests.Results: The rate of completion across LTBI regimens was 66% (n = 393). A greater proportion of noncompleters were unmarried, used tobacco and/or alcohol, and had more medical problems than completers (all P < .05). A larger proportion of noncompleters received charity care compared with completers (P < .001). The most common reason for treatment discontinuation was loss to follow-up; the majority of these participants were treated with the longest isoniazid-only regimen.Conclusions: Patients at risk of progression to active tuberculosis with factors associated with noncompletion may benefit from interventions that enhance adherence to LTBI therapy. These interventions could include enhanced outreach, incentive programs, or home visits.