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Home / The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Volume 16, Number 7

Alcohol use and the management of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Tomsk, Russian Federation

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SETTING: Alcohol use increases the risk of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and poses challenges for successful MDR-TB treatment, including the potential for additional adverse events.

AIM: To investigate the association between alcohol consumption during MDR-TB treatment and adverse events and treatment outcomes in a cohort of patients in Tomsk, Russia.

DESIGN: From 2000 to 2004, retrospective data were collected on 407 MDR-TB patients in Tomsk. Factors associated with treatment outcomes were assessed using logistic regression.

RESULTS: Of the 407 patients, 253 (62.2%) consumed alcohol during treatment (‘drinkers’), and 367 (90.2%) had at least one documented adverse advent. No significant differences were noted in frequency of adverse events in drinkers vs. non-drinkers. Drinkers had less favourable treatment outcomes (OR 0.28, 95%CI 0.18–0.45). Among drinkers, favourable treatment outcome was associated with adherence to at least 80% of prescribed doses (OR 2.89, 95%CI 1.30–6.43) and the occurrence of an adverse event requiring treatment interruption (OR 2.49, 95%CI 1.11–5.59).

CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol use did not appear to increase the risk of adverse events during MDR-TB treatment; however, alcohol consumption was associated with poor outcome. Our findings suggest that individuals who drink alcohol should receive aggressive attention to optimise treatment adherence and manage adverse events.

Keywords: Russia; adverse effects; alcohol; multidrug-resistant; outcomes; tuberculosis

Document Type: Research Article

Affiliations: 1: Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA 2: Partners In Health, Tomsk Oblast, Russian Federation 3: Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Division of Global Health Equity, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA 4: Division of Global Health Equity, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA 5: Tomsk Oblast Clinical Tuberculosis Hospital, Tomsk, Russian Federation 6: Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Publication date: 01 July 2012

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  • The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IJTLD) is for clinical research and epidemiological studies on lung health, including articles on TB, TB-HIV and respiratory diseases such as COVID-19, asthma, COPD, child lung health and the hazards of tobacco and air pollution. Individuals and institutes can subscribe to the IJTLD online or in print – simply email us at [email protected] for details.

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