Abstract
BACKGROUND: Uganda is among the 30 high tuberculosis (TB) burden countries, and still grapples with a suboptimal treatment success rate (the sum of cured and treatment completion), which stands at 89.1% for people living with HIV and 91.2% for those without HIV. The Teso region, one of the high TB burden regions in the country, has consistently had a lower treatment success rate (TSR). OBJECTIVES: To determine the treatment success and associated factors among drug-susceptible TB individuals in the Teso region, Uganda. DESIGN: This retrospective study was conducted in the five (5) largest TB diagnostic units in the Teso region of Northeastern Uganda from 1st March 2025 to 28th March 2025. METHODS: Data were collected from the health facility's TB treatment register. The primary outcome was treatment success. Data were analyzed using Stata statistical software, version 15.0, and summarized into proportions and frequencies. Modified Poisson regression analysis was conducted to determine factors associated with treatment success and reported as adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR). A p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Data from 1009 individuals were included in the analysis; the median age was 45 years, with an interquartile range of (28-60). The majority of the individuals, 48.1% (n = 485), were aged 15-49 years. Just over half, 52.9% (n = 534), were male, and 54.5% (n = 550) had bacteriologically confirmed TB. The overall TSR was 91.9%. Factors associated with a higher treatment success were being female (aPR = 1.04; 95% CI: 1.002-1.07, p = 0.041). In contrast, being aged > 49 (Elderly) (aPR = 0.95; 95% CI: 0.89-0.99, p = 0.042) and living with HIV (aPR = 0.93; 95% CI: 0.88-0.98, p = 0.008) were associated with a lower likelihood of treatment success. CONCLUSION: In this study, being female was associated with higher treatment success, while being older than 49 years and having HIV were associated with lower treatment success. This calls for early screening and strengthening TB preventive therapy among the people living with HIV, peer-to-peer support among the elderly for treatment adherence to improve TSR, and to achieve the goal of eradicating TB by 2030.