SURVIVAL ANALYSIS OF AVERAGE RECOVERY TIME OF TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS IN NORTHERN REGION, GHANA

Abstract

In this study, the average recovery time of Tuberculosis patients and the associated risk of treatment failure/death were examined based on a retrospective moving cohort of sixty-one patients. Mainly, four models: Cox regression, Kaplan-Meier estimator, Log-Pearson III, and the generalized gamma distributions were employed in the analysis to explore all useful information that may be of help to policy makers and stakeholders in their quest to improve service delivery to patients. The generalized gamma distribution produced results that were closer to that of the semi-parametric model, Cox regression model, It was observed that the survival rates for males and females were 85.71% and 88.46% respectively. Evidently, pulmonary Tuberculosis was most prevalent. It was discovered that, not only the age of patient at diagnosis matter, but also the category, and type cf the patient. The study also reported a much shorter median recovery time of 22 weeks in the Region compared to those reported in other parts of the world. The risk of relapse and death were found to be related to age. High percentage of success rate of recovery recorded in patients with new diagnosis. Aithough, it is generally reported that the levels of drug resistance in Africa are lower than in other parts of the world, measures to provide ccntrolled application of second -line drugs, supervision of drug distribution and conpliance enforcement of Directly Observed Therapy - Short course protocols, and sustained training of all personnel involved in TB management should be enforced for effective combat of the tuberculosis disease