Search Outcome
The search process yielded 388 articles on PubMed and 57560 on Google Scholar on the 7th January 2020 (Addendum 1). After screening of the titles of these records- 154 articles were selected. From the 154 articles retrieved, 91 were from Google Scholar and 63 from PubMed. 42 of these were found to be duplications and removed. The 112 remaining articles were screened for appropriateness. Seventeen articles were removed based on qualitative study design. The 95 remaining articles (19 reviews and 76 quantitative studies), full papers were reviewed and further assessed for eligibility. For articles where the full text was not available, we used the Sci Hub website to retrieve the full text. Of the 95 articles whose full texts were screened, only 20 were found eligible and further assessed. Thus, a total number of 75 articles were further excluded as can be seen in Addendum 2. Out of the excluded articles, 59 were quantitative articles and involved 4 children<5years; 23 not Africa; 18 general/ Drug-Sensitive TB (DS-TB); 11 other factors- clinical; 1 isoniazid-resistant (INH) resistance; 2 XDR with unrelated content and 16 reviews excluded: 5 general- DS-TB; 4 other factors-clinical; 3 not applicable; 1 epidemiological study; 3 not systematic reviews.An updated database search was conducted on the 21st of September 2020 to identify the latest research on the topic. The search yielded 26 new articles in PubMed and 2639 in Google Scholar (Addendum 1). These articles were screened for eligibility as presented in Figure 1. Only 2 of the articles were identified as eligible. Figure 1 below presents a schema for the search process and the outcome of the article selection process.
Study setting of reviewed articles
Among the 20 eligible articles selected for review, eight studies (7) were conducted in Ethiopia, five (5) in South Africa and then respectively one (1) in each of the following countries: Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, and Angola. The three systematic reviews and one (1) cross- sectional study featured more than one nation all including Sub Sahara African countries. The 2 eligible articles in the updated search were done in Ethiopia (cross- sectional) and Sub Sahara African countries (systematic review). This is illustrated in Figure 2.
Summary of the studies reviewed
Tables 1 presents the characteristics of the study population. Addendum 3 shows a summary of all 22 eligible articles, with specific focus on the main objectives and socio- economic factors that influence DR-TB. Of these selected studies, sixteen (17) were quantitative and three (3) were systematic reviews. Of the 17 quantitative articles, 5 were case controls, 4 cohort studies, 8 cross-sectional. These studies broadly focused on socio-economic risk factors, social issues, and financial issues. Eleven (11) of the articles reviewed focused on only social aspects, four (4) only on financial/ economic issues and five (5) articles covered both social and economic aspects. Of the selected articles, with the updated search one (1) was a cross- sectional study focusing on social aspects and a systematic review covering both social and economic aspects.
Table 1: Characteristics of the study population
Characteristics
|
N
|
%
|
Citation
|
Mean age
|
33, 7
|
-
|
[19- 32], [34], [35], [36], [41- 42]
|
|
|
|
|
Sex
|
|
|
|
Male
|
276751
|
66,9
|
[19- 38]], [41]
|
Female
|
137025
|
33,1
|
[19- 38], [41]
|
|
|
|
|
Type of DR TB
|
|
|
|
RR/ MDR
|
2173
|
0,5
|
[19- 37]
|
PRE- XDR
|
104
|
0, 03
|
[19- 37]
|
XDR
|
330
|
0,08
|
[19- 37]
|
Mono drug resistance (other than RIF)
|
136
|
0,03
|
[19- 37]
|
Poli drug resistance)
|
18
|
0,004
|
[19- 37]
|
STB/ controls
|
2473
|
0,5
|
[19- 37]
|
DRTB type not indicated (no breakdown)
|
408542
|
98,7
|
[38], [41- 42]
|
|
|
|
|
Duration of study – Average duration of studies
|
32 months
|
-
|
[19- 38], [41- 42]
|
|
|
|
|
Treatment outcomes
|
|
|
|
Favourable (Cured/ Treatment completed)
|
89410
|
21,60
|
[29], [31], [34], [42]
|
Unfavourable (Died/ Defaulted/ LTFU/ Failed/ relapse)
|
66063
|
15, 96
|
[29], [31], [34]. [42]
|
Transferred out
|
8
|
0,002
|
[31]
|
Treatment outcome not evaluated in study
|
258295
|
62,42
|
[30], [32-33], [35- 38] [41]
|
Emerged themes from studies reviewed
- Social issues influencing MDR-TB
Thirteen studies identified in the initial search and both the studies in the updated search looked at the social issues influencing MDR-TB. This included apprehensions on stigma and prejudice, the impact of ethanol on the management of MDR-TB, low educational level, overcrowding, lack of treatment support and problems related to MDR-TB/HIV coinfection.
1.1 Substance use and abuse: Five articles on treatment outcomes among the eligible studies found that alcohol consumption influenced MDR-TB. Alcohol consumption was found to be a predictor of MDR-TB poor treatment outcomes [21], while substance use was observed to cause poor adherence to treatment [38]. Hence, substance use and abuse were identified as risk factors for MDR-TB acquisition or development and conversely, alcohol consumption was associated with treatment default and failure rate among new DR-TB cases 28].
1.2 Poverty: The highest rates of DS-TB and DR-TB were discovered in the disadvantaged settings of the community such as the rural areas, overcrowded households and congested areas [19, 23, 33]. Biru et al. (2020) found that residing in a one-roomed house is an independent factor related to DR-TB [41] . Low-income people and persons with little educational exposure had an increased risk of infection [36, 38]. Poverty may result in poor nutrition, which may be related, with alterations in the immune system, causing an increased vulnerability. Poverty, on the other hand, results in congestion, poor ventilation and unhygienic environments, increasing the risk of TB transmission [38].
1.3 Stigma and Discrimination: Thomas et al. (2016) highlight stigma and discrimination as the drivers for the infection and transmission of MDR-TB [38]. Stigma and discrimination in MDR-TB burdened setting was shown to also affect a patient’s health-seeking behavior and access to healthcare negatively. Stigma and discrimination included rejection from family, friends or health workers, financial uncertainty and feelings of anxiety and depression []. It was found that MDR-TB patients would willingly isolate themselves for fear of infecting other members of the family. This can often resulted in isolation, cancellation of engagements, failed relationships and separation within the family [38].
- Economic Factors influencing MDR-TB
MDR-TB has a vast financial effect on patients due to the complex nature and long duration and of treatment regimens. Socio-economic barriers affecting patient care included treatment distance, inaccessibility, transport costs and costs experienced during hospitalization [35]. Oga-Omenka et al. (2020) identified the inability to pay care-related costs as a barrier for diagnosis and treatment of DR-TB [42] . There was also associated job losses and production time loss during the initial intensive phase of treatment [24, 25]. Thomas et al. (2016) found that patients who had not returned to work after one year of being on medication were their family’s breadwinners which had to cease working for a substantial amount of time [38]. Decrease in income due to absenteeism from work and the treatment-related loss of income and extra costs was generally catastrophic [24].
Quality of Evidence
The Mixed Method Quality Appraisal Tool (MMAT) Version 2018 [41] was utilized to assess the quality of all the included quantitative studies (17) while, The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) [42] tool was used to assess the systematic reviews. . Two reviewers (LLC/ KEO) assessed the quality of the articles. The following categories were assessed: the appropriateness of the aim of the study, adequacy and methodology, study design, participant recruitment, data collection, data analysis, and findings presented. The quality score ranges from ≤ 50% as low quality, 51–75% an average quality, and 76–100% high quality. All the 17 included quantitative studies had high quality percentage of 76– 100%. None of the included studies for quality assessment scored low quality. The case control study retrieved through the update search, also scored high quality The CASP has 3 domains which has 10 questions. 2 of the reviews were found high quality and one average. The review generated from the updated search scored high quality with an overall of 70%. Quality assessment of evidence is attached as additional files (Addendum 4.1 and 4.2). The studies were considered to have minimal risk of bias.