Sociodemographic profile of mono rifampicin-resistant (RR) cases among pulmonary tuberculosis patients, Erbil, Iraq, 2015–2020

Abstract

Background: Rifampicin-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis (RR-PTB) remains a global health burden. The spread of RR Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a threat to treatment and control of tuberculosis. Objective: This study aimed to assess the rate of RR-PTB and further determine the factors associated with it. Materials and Methods: This study was achieved in April and May 2022. Data were collected, reviewed, and analyzed from archived records of patients who had been tested using Xpert MTB/RIF assay at the Chest and Respiratory Disease Specialized Centre in Erbil City from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2020. Results: A total of 1236 medical records of patients who tested for drug resistance using GeneXpert were included in this retrospective data analysis study. Overall, GeneXpert positive results were reported in 196 cases (15.9%) which denote confirmed cases of tuberculosis by the GeneXpert test in the period 2015–2020. From the total confirmed patients, twenty-one cases (21,10.7%) were found to be RR-PTB. The highest prevalence of RR-PTB according to gender, age range, category of patients, and prevalence of HIV status was as follows: male (11; 52.4%), 18–28 years (9; 42.9%), relapse (13; 61.9%), and HIV positivity (12; 57.1%), respectively. The differences in distribution of the rifampicin resistance concerning the aforementioned demography were as follows: gender: nonsignificant, age range: not significant, relapse: significant (P ≤ 0.05), HIV positivity: highly significant (P ≤ 0.01). Conclusion: This study reported the prevalence rate of rifampicin-resistant M. tuberculosis was 10.7% among confirmed TB patients. HIV-positive and previous TB treatment history were significantly associated with high RR-PTB. This result showed that GeneXpert assay is a convenient tool for the early diagnosis of rifampicin-resistant M. tuberculosis.