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Delay in treatment initiation and treatment outcomes among adult patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis at Yangon Regional Tuberculosis Centre, Myanmar: A retrospective study.

Ye Minn HtunTin Mi Mi KhaingNay Myo AungYin YinZaw MyintSi Thu AungNgamphol SoonthornworasiriUdomsak SilachamroonYuthichai KasetjaroenJaranit Kaewkungwal
Published in: PloS one (2018)
Post-diagnosis delays in the initiation of treatment among MDR-TB patients were significantly long. The study results showed that inadequate MDR-TB treatment initiation center, centralization of treatment initiation, limitation of human resources, were health-system factors delaying timely treatment initiation and implementation of an effective TB-control program. Our findings highlight the need for immediate interventions to reduce treatment delay and improve treatment outcomes, including scaling up diagnostic capacity with Xpert MTB/RIF at township level, expansion of decentralized MDR-TB treatment initiation centers, ensuring a productive health workforce comprising trained health personnel, and providing health education and treatment-adherence counseling to patients and family members.
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