Examining interventions that aim to enhance TB treatment adherence in Southeast Asia: A systematic review and...

Adherence is often a barrier to curative treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB). There have been numerous interventions focused on increasing TB treatment adherence in Southeast Asia, but it is unclear if they are effective. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to compile and evaluate the literature on interventions designed to increase TB treatment adherence in Southeast Asia.

We searched Cochrane Library Reviews (CDSR) and Cochrane Library Trials (CENTRAL), Medline, CINAHL, Scopus, and Web of Science from 2000 to 2022 with no language restrictions. We included studies of any design conducted in Southeast Asia that implemented interventions to increase treatment completion in people diagnosed with TB and assessed completion as an outcome. We did not require a control group. Four investigators used a standardized data collection form to collate results. The heterogeneity across studies was explored by I² statistics. We assessed bias using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and Cochrane ROB 2.0. We used a random effects meta-analysis to calculate a pooled risk ratio with 95% confidence intervals.

From 1881 abstracts, we included 14 articles. There were 7198 subjects with 3163 (44%) receiving a TB treatment adherence intervention across eight countries. Interventions included directly observed therapy, text-message reminders, food incentives, and more. The risk ratio, derived from the meta-analysis of eight included studies with a control group and 6618 participants overall, was 1.04 (95% CI 1.01,1.08; I² = 29%), favoring the interventions over controls with little concern for heterogeneity or risk of bias. When narratively assessed, the other six studies all reported increased adherence in the intervention group.

The results suggested there is a small, statistically significant benefit of using interventions to promote TB treatment completion. Future research could look at additional strategies and combinations of strategies to promote adherence.