Publication:

Assessment of adherence to ATT among HIV-TB co-infected patients attending the ART centre of a tertiary care hospital of Jharkhand

Background Despite being preventable and curable, TB is the leading cause of HIV associated mortality. It is the most common opportunistic infection among HIV positive individuals with CD4 cell count <500/ mm3. Worldwide the number of people infected with both HIV & TB is rising. The objective of the study was to describe the socio-demographic profile of HIV-TB co-infected patients and to assess the adherence of HIV TB Co-infected patients to anti tubercular treatment (ATT) attending ART Centre, RIMS, Ranchi.

Methods It was a hospital based prospective study done at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Ranchi. Duration of study was 14 months. A total of 117 patients were registered during the study period and were followed up for adherence to ATT.

Results Out of 117 patients 4 were excluded. Among 113 patients, mostly were male (74.3%) and from rural background (69.9%). Majority (94.7%) of the patients came for regular follow up and took medicines as advised. Adherence was significantly associated with education (p=0.025).

Conclusions In this study it was concluded that education significantly affected adherence to ATT among HIV-TB Co-infected patients of ART Centre of RIMS, Ranchi.