Correlates of Unsuccessful Treatment among Persons Living with Tuberculosis in an Urban Setting in Northern Ghana

Background: Despite Tuberculosis (TB) being highly infectious, having equally high mortality rates, and being endemic in the northern region of Ghana, data on treatment evaluation is sparse. This novel study therefore sought to determine the correlates of unsuccessful treatment outcome of tuberculosis in the Tamale Metropolitan area in the Northern Region of Ghana. Methods: Records of TB patients were retrospectively reviewed from January 2017 to December 2021. Demographic and other clinically important information were extracted from patients’ folders in health facilities within the Tamale Metropolitan area. Binary logistic regression was used to assess the correlates of unsuccessful treatment at p ≤ 0.05 and 95% Confidence Interval (CI). Results: A total of 235 participants were sampled; 13.19% died, 5.96% of them defaulted treatment, 2.55% were lost to follow-up, and 0.43% experienced treatment failure. The unsuccessful treatment rate was found to be 22.12%. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) positive status [adjusted odds ratios (aOR) = 4.141, 95% (CI) = (1.28 - 13.36)] showed increased odds of resulting in unsuccessful treatment outcome, while visits by medical staff to patients on therapy [aOR = 0.043, 95% CI = (0.17 - 0.11)] resulted in lower odds of unsuccessful treatment outcome after adjusting for all other variables. Conclusion: In this novel study in the Tamale Metropolitan area, the unsuccessful treatment rate was high. And so in order to achieve the 2035 “End TB strategy”, it’s imperative to improve the supervision of patients on therapy while scaling up the fight against TB/HIV coinfection both at the regional and national levels of Ghana.