Why does it take so long? The reasons behind tuberculosis treatment delay in Portugal

Delayed diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis contributes to the spread of the disease. In this study, we aimed to determine the patient and healthcare system delay among tuberculosis patients in Portugal and identify associated factors at individual and contextual level.

We analysed all TB cases notified in Portugal between 2010 and 2014 using data from the national surveillance system. Patient and healthcare system delay were computed, log-transformed, and used as outcomes. Adjusted generalized linear models were fitted to identify sociodemographic, contextual and clinical determinants.

The study included 6838 patients. The median of patient and healthcare system were 33 and 17 days, respectively. Adjusted regression models revealed that higher patient delay occurred in foreign patients (exponentiated beta: 1.177, 95%CI 1.091-1.270) and those addicted to alcohol (1.169, 1.072-1.276) and drugs (1.153, 1.027-1.295). Higher healthcare system delay was observed among patients with extra-pulmonary TB (2.067, 1.885-2.268) and pulmonary comorbidities - lung cancer (2.391, 1.656-3.452), sarcoidosis (3.316, 1.370-8.022) and COPD (1.295, 1.059-1.584) - and in patients residing further from a healthcare service (1.040, 1.018-1.062).

We found that various individual and contextual factors affect the time delay in tuberculosis treatment. Our findings indicate that some strategies, such as facilitating the access to healthcare services among foreign patients and patients with addictions and increasing the awareness towards TB among healthcare professionals, may result in better TB control.