Tuberculosis recurrence over 7-year follow-up period in successfully treated patients in a routine programme setting in China: a prospective longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVES: To determine tuberculosis (TB) recurrence in previously successfully treated patients in routine program setting and baseline characteristics associated with TB recurrence.

METHODS: A prospective longitudinal study in Jiangxi Province, China. Patients, ≥14 years old, were consecutively registered and were followed-up for 7-year to assess TB recurrence against patients' individual baseline data that was entered into a database at TB registration.

RESULTS: There were 800 TB patients registered at baseline and 634 (79.2%) of them completed anti-TB treatments. Fifty nine (9.3%) died and 21 (3.3%) were lost to follow-up over the follow-up period. There were 96 patients with recurrent episodes (total incidence 15.2% or annual incidence 2,200/100,000). Of the recurrent cases, 53 (55.2%) happened within 2-year after completion of anti-TB treatments. After controlling confounding factors, risk of TB recurrence was significantly higher in age range 34-73 years (P<0.01) and current smokers (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONS: Overall recurrence rate among previously treated TB patients was much higher compared to initial incidence in the same population (61-98/100,000) and settings with similar TB incidence. TB programs should consider closer monitoring for these patients for early detection of recurrence. Particular attention should be given to those between 34-73 years and those who use tobacco products.