[TUBERCULOSIS ANNUAL REPORT 2014 -(4) Tuberculosis Treatment and Treatment Outcomes -]

In this article, we reviewed data regarding the previous treatment history, regimen types, and hospitalization status of tuberculosis (TB) patients newly notified in 2014. The duration of treatment and hospitalization, and the treat- ment outcomes of TB patients notified in 2013 were also eval- uated by using a cohort analysis. Of the 19,615 newly notified TB patients in 2014, 1,179 had a previous history of TB treatment. Approximately 90% of all TB patients aged 15-49 years were treated with isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol (or strepto- mycin), which is the globally recommended regimen for initial treatment. However, the proportion of patients receiv- ing the standard regimen decreased with their increasing age, and sharply dropped for those aged ≥80 years. Of 15,149 patients with pulmonary TB (PTB), more than 50% of those aged 50 years were hospitalized at the beginning of the TB treatment; the proportion of those hospitalized in each age group increased with the increasing age of the patients. At the end of 2014, the median durations of hospitalization and treatment for all forms of TB notified in 2013 were 62 and 273 days, respectively. For cases notified in 2013, the rates of treatment success for patients with new sputum smear-positive PTB (n=7,600) and for those on re-treatment (n= 529) were 49.6% and 41.8%, respectively. In addition, the treatment success rates for foreign-born patients with new sputum smear-positive PTB (n=289), and those on re- treatment (n= 19) were 59.5% and 36.8%, respectively. The rates lost to follow-up for patients with new sputum smear- positive PTB and those undergoing re-treatment were well below 5% when considering the total number of patients (both foreign-born and Japan-born), as well as only the foreign-born patients. The death rate among all new sputum smear-positive PTB patients was 21.6%, and the rates were relatively higher in the age groups 60-69, 70-79, 80-89, and ≥90 years (13.1%, 21.6%, 33.0%, and 46.7%, respectively).