February 2021 Vol. 9 No.2

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Original Research Article

Factors associated with Patient Delay in Diagnosis of Tuberculosis at Tuberculosis Management Units, River Nile State, Sudan, 2019

Isra Khalil Mohammed Ali Saeed¹, Talal Elfadil Mahdi², Amel Eltaib Elagib¹, Somia Bilal Alamin¹, Hiba Sirelkhatim Hassan¹, Esmehan Elkheir Babeker¹, Ibtehag Abdel Moneim Ahmed Keri¹, Ibrahim Ismail M. Abu^3,4*

¹Fedral Ministry of Health, Khartoum, Khartoum State, Sudan
²Faculty of Medicine, Alnahda University, Khartoum, Sudan
³Faculty of Medicine, King Abdelaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
⁴Faculty of Medicine, Al Fashir University, Al Fashir, North Darfur State, Sudan

*Corresponding Authors Email: burha72@gmail.com

Received: 31 January 2021  I  Accepted: 21 February 2021  I  Published: 25 February 2021  I  Article ID: MRJMMS-21-019
Copyright © 2021 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article.
This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0.

Abstract

This study aims to determine the factors associated with a patient delay in the diagnosis of tuberculosis in River Nile state- Sudan. An unmatched case-control study was carried out between August 2018 and September 2019.Cases were patients registered at Tuberculosis management unites as TB patients and who delay in seeking care from a formal health care provider more than 30 days and controls were the patients who had the same inclusion criteria but not delay in seeking care from a formal health care provider. Fifty-four cases and one hundred fifty-eight controls were interviewed by using a standardized questionnaire. Baseline data were collected from both groups through face-to-face interviews, using a structured close-ended questionnaire. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were done in the course of the data analyses. The median patient delay was 60 days. The study indicated that chest pain and alcohol consumption were independent predictors of patient delay. However, cough, night sweating, and urban residence were associated with a shorter period of delay. There was no significant association between those who delay seeking care and not delayed in terms of age, gender, level of education, distance, stigma, knowledge, other clinical factors, or health seeking behaviors.

Keywords: Tuberculosis, patient delay, factors, diagnosis, River Nile State, Sudan