Socio-Demographic and Clinical Profiles, along with Some Management Indicators, of MDR TB Patients: A Clinical Research

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) is a major challenge to any TB control programme. The objective of this work is to study the socio-demographic and the clinical profiles, along with some management indicators, of 23 MDR TB patients at the Domjur Block, India, in 2018. This cross-sectional study recorded data about six important criteria related to the socio-demographic profile of the MDR TB patients, in 2018, to find out the influences of these criteria on the occurrence of MDR TB in that block, during that time; the six criteria are: age, sex, religion, educational status, occupational status, and family income. Also, this work studied the clinical profile of those MDR TB patients, and some key indicators corresponding to the management of those patients by the health centre at the Domjur Block. The indicators are expected to help in understanding how the RNTCP (Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme) of the Government of India, was going on in that block, in 2018. The Domjur Block was selected by the random sampling method. Relevant data were collected by interviewing the patients, using a predesigned, pretested, structured questionnaire. The binomial test, done at 5% level of significance, in case of the socio-demographic criteria, shows that, only age, educational status, and family income significantly influenced the occurrence of MDR TB at Domjur, the influence of educational status being the most significant. Thus, higher education and increase in income, can help in combatting MDR TB. On the other hand, the indicators pertaining to the management of the MDR TB patients, show that the RNTCP was going on reasonably well; however, a lot was yet to be achieved.