Lived experiences of patients and families with decentralised drug-resistant tuberculosis care in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Background: South Africa adopted the decentralised Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (DR-TB) care model in 2011 with a view of improving clinical outcomes.

Aim: This study explores the experiences and perceptions of patients and family members on the effectiveness of a decentralised community DR-TB care model in the Oliver Reginald Kaizana (OR) Tambo district municipality of the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Method: In this phenomenological qualitative research design, a semi-structured interview with prompts was conducted on 30 participants (15 patients and 15 family members).

Time-to-Treatment Initiation in a Decentralised Community-Care Model of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Management in the OR Tambo District Municipality of South Africa.

Background: Drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) continues to challenge global efforts toward eradicating and having a tuberculosis-free world. Considering the high early mortality, especially among HIV-infected individuals, early diagnosis and prompt initiation of effective treatment are needed to significantly reduce mortality and halt transmission of DR-TB in the community.

Aim: This study aims to assess the effectiveness of a community DR-TB care model with the specific objective of determining the Time-to-treatment initiation of DR-TB among patients in the OR Tambo district municipality.

Treatment Outcomes and Associated Factors among Tuberculosis Patients from Selected Rural Eastern Cape Hospitals: An Ambidirectional Study.

An essential metric for determining the efficacy of tuberculosis (TB) control programs is the evaluation of TB treatment outcomes; this study was conducted to investigate treatment outcomes and associated factors among tuberculosis patients in rural areas of Eastern Cape, South Africa. Assessing treatment outcomes is fundamental to facilitating the End TB Strategy's set target. Clinic records from 457 patients with DR-TB were examined for data collection while 101 patients were followed up prospectively.

One in four die from acute infectious illness in an emergency department in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.

Background: Despite the breadth of data supporting evidence-based practice for sepsis care in high-resource settings, there are relatively few data to guide the management of sepsis in low-resource settings, particularly in areas where HIV and tuberculosis (TB) are prevalent. Furthermore, few studies had broadened sepsis parameters to include all patients with acute infectious illness or followed patients up after hospital discharge. Understanding the epidemiology and outcomes of acute infections in a local context is the critical first step to developing locally informed targeted management strategies.