Impact of COVID-19 on Tuberculosis Case Detection and Treatment Outcomes in Sierra Leone

• Published in: Tropical medicine and infectious disease 2021-08, Vol.6 (3), p.154
• Main Authors: Lakoh, Sulaiman, Jiba, Darlinda F., Baldeh, Mamadu, Adekanmbi, Olukemi, Barrie, Umu, Seisay, Alhassan L., Deen, Gibrilla F., Salata, Robert A., Yendewa, George A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Clinical outcomes; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Disease transmission; Epidemics; Health facilities; Hospitals; Laboratories; Leprosy; Pandemics; Population; resource-limited settings; services utilization; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Sierra Leone; Success; Tuberculosis; Variables
• ISSN: 2414-6366; 2414-6366
• DOI: 10.3390/tropicalmed6030154

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected tuberculosis (TB) care delivery in high burden countries. We therefore conducted a retrospective study to assess the impact of COVID-19 on TB case detection and treatment outcomes at the Chest Clinic at Connaught Hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Overall, 2300 presumptive cases were tested during the first three quarters of 2020 (intra-COVID-19) versus 2636 in 2019 (baseline), representing a 12.7% decline. Testing declined by 25% in women, 20% in children and 81% in community-initiated referrals. Notwithstanding, laboratory-confirmed TB cases increased by 37.0% and treatment success rate was higher in 2020 (55.6% vs. 46.7%, p = 0.002). Multivariate logistic regression analysis found that age < 55 years (aOR 1.74, 95% CI (1.80, 2.56); p = 0.005), new diagnosis (aOR 1.69, 95% CI (1.16, 2.47); p = 0.007), pulmonary TB (aOR 3.17, 95% CI (1.67, 6.04); p < 0.001), HIV negative status (aOR 1.60, 95%CI (1.24, 2.06); p < 0.001) and self-administration of anti-TB drugs through monthly dispensing versus directly observed therapy (DOT) (aOR 1.56, 95% CI (1.21, 2.03); p = 0.001) independently predicted treatment success. These findings may have policy implications for DOTS in this setting and suggest that more resources are needed to reverse the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on TB program activities in Sierra Leone.