The Factors Leading to Delayed Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in Abadan During 2010-2013

Delay in diagnosis and timely beginning of treatment are among the effective factors on successful fight against tuberculosis. This study aimed to identify the factors leading to delayed diagnosis of tuberculosis in Abadan during 2010-2013. As a retrospective cohort study, 367 patients with tuberculosis were studied in Abadan. The delayed diagnosis was defined as the 3 month or higher interval from onset of symptoms until diagnosis. Data were collected by the prepared check list including gender, residence location, age group and time of diagnosis, together with the clinical variables including type of tuberculosis, sputum smear test result, HIV status and treatment groups. The chi-square test was applied to evaluate any relationship between variables and delay in diagnosis. Data were statistically analyzed by STATA version 12. Among the 367 enrolled tuberculosis patients, 250 (68%) were male and 316 (86.1%) participants were living in urban areas. Delayed diagnosis was significant different between the residence locations (p=0.025) i.e. delay in rural area was higher than urban areas. Furthermore delay in diagnosis of HIV positive cases was lower than HIV negative patients (p=0.025). Median of delay was 2 months. The delay in tuberculosis diagnosis was higher in men and in rural areas. Thus, patient screening programs should be strengthened, especially for men and rural areas.