Table 2.
Clinical characteristics of study participants.
| Variables | Level | Overall (n = 427) n (%) | 8-month treatment regimen (n = 197) n (%) | 6-month treatment regimen (n = 230) n (%) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MTB bacilli load | + (10–99 AFB/100 fields) | 174 (40.7) | 81 (41.1) | 93 (40.4) | 0.418 |
| ++ (1–10 AFB/field) | 197 (46.1) | 86 (43.7) | 111 (48.3) | ||
| +++ (>10 AFB/field) | 56 (13.1) | 30 (15.2) | 26 (11.3) | ||
| MTB/RR-TB status using Xpert testing | MTB detected/RR-TB not detected | 191 (44.7) | 87 (44.2) | 104 (45.2) | 0.904 |
| MTB not detected/RR-TB not detected | 236 (55.3) | 110 (55.8) | 126 (54.8) | ||
| Baseline weight, kg | Mean ± SD | 51.3 ± 16.6 | 51.6 ± 16.8 | 51.0 ± 16.4 | 0.701 |
| HIV status | Negative | 158 (37.0) | 66 (33.5) | 92 (40.0) | <0.001 |
| Positive | 132 (30.9) | 45 (22.8) | 87 (37.8) | ||
| Unknown | 137 (32.1) | 86 (43.7) | 51 (22.2) | ||
| Treatment model | Digital community DOT | 47 (11.0) | 18 (9.1) | 29 (12.6) | 0.459 |
| Health facility-based | 363 (85.0) | 172 (87.3) | 191 (83.0) | ||
| Non-digital community DOT | 17 (4.0) | 7 (3.6) | 10 (4.3) | ||
| Sputum smear test at Month 2/3 | No | 48 (11.2) | 30 (15.2) | 18 (7.8) | 0.024 |
| Yes | 379 (88.8) | 167 (84.8) | 212 (92.2) | ||
| Sputum smear test at Month 5 | No | 55 (12.9) | 33 (16.8) | 22 (9.6) | 0.039 |
| Yes | 372 (87.1) | 164 (83.2) | 208 (90.4) | ||
| Sputum smear test at Month 6/8 | No | 76 (17.8) | 42 (21.3) | 34 (14.8) | 0.102 |
| Yes | 351 (82.2) | 155 (78.7) | 196 (85.2) | ||
| Treatment supporter available | No | 81 (19.0) | 41 (20.8) | 40 (17.4) | 0.438 |
| Yes | 346 (81.0) | 156 (79.2) | 190 (82.6) | ||
| Treatment success | No | 215 (50.4) | 105 (53.3) | 110 (47.8) | 0.303 |
| Yes | 212 (49.6) | 92 (46.7) | 120 (52.2) | ||
| Sputum outcome at Month 2/3 (n = 379)* | Positive | 169 (44.6) | 77 (46.1) | 92 (43.4) | 0.598 |
| Negative | 210 (55.4) | 90 (53.9) | 120 (56.6) | ||
| Sputum outcome at Month 5 (n = 372)* | Positive | 163 (43.8) | 73 (44.5) | 90 (43.3) | 0.810 |
| Negative | 209 (56.2) | 91 (55.5) | 118 (56.7) | ||
| Sputum outcome at Month 6/8 (n = 351)* | Positive | 8 (2.3) | 3 (1.9) | 5 (2.6) | 0.701 |
| Negative | 343 (97.7) | 152 (98.1) | 191 (97.4) | ||
| Treatment outcomes | Cured | 203 (47.5) | 86 (43.7) | 117 (50.9) | 0.035 |
| Treatment completed | 9 (2.1) | 6 (3.0) | 3 (1.3) | ||
| Treatment failed | 144 (33.7) | 62 (31.5) | 82 (35.7) | ||
| Dead | 14 (3.3) | 6 (3.0) | 8 (3.5) | ||
| Lost to follow-up | 24 (5.6) | 17 (8.6) | 7 (3.0) | ||
| Transfer-out | 33 (7.7) | 20 (10.2) | 13 (5.7) |
* The data analysis was restricted to participants who received sputum smear examination at respective time points and to participants with pulmonary bacteriologically confirmed TB.
SD = standard deviation; MTB = Mycobacterium tuberculosis; AFB = acid-fast bacilli; RR-TB = rifampicin-resistant TB; DOT = directly observed therapy.