Risk Factors for Pulmonary Tuberculosis and the Effect of Chemotherapy on the Quality of Life of Infected Patients in Nairobi City County, Kenya

Abstract

BACKGROUND According to World Health Organization, there were 10.4 million cases of tuberculosis worldwide in 2015 and eighty-seven percent of the victims were in Asia and Africa. Kenya is among the countries with high burden of tuberculosis in Africa. The risk factors and the increase in the incidence of drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis coupled with HIV infection poses a big challenge in the control of the disease. The anti-tuberculosis drugs have adverse effects which affects quality of life. Health-related quality of life has not been considered as an important factor during treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis. Lack of attention to the quality of life of patients causes poor treatments outcomes since some of the adverse reactions are debilitating and interfere with their daily activities. OBJECTIVE To determine the risk factors for pulmonary tuberculosis and the effects of chemotherapy on the quality of life of patients in Nairobi City County. METHODS Study design: Three different designs were used to achieve the objectives of the study. A case-control design was used to determine the risk factors for tuberculosis and the level of knowledge of the disease among the participants. A cross-sectionalalal design was adopted to investigate the impact of adverse drug reactions of first line anti-tuberculosis drugs on adherence and quality of life of patients. Finally, a longitudinal design was adopted to determine the incidence of adverse drug reactions and quality of life of patients on therapy for resistant tuberculosis.

Setting: The study was carried out in Nairobi City County health facilities. These included health centers and hospitals where patients with tuberculosis access care............