Volume 15, Number 2—February 2009
Dispatch
Effect of Free Treatment and Surveillance on HIV-Infected Persons Who Have Tuberculosis, Taiwan, 1993–2006
Shu-Hui Tseng, Donald Dah-Shyong Jiang, Hao-Seong Hoi, Hsiu-Yun Lo, and Kao-Pin Hwang
Table 1
Demographic and clinical characteristics of 660 persons coinfected with HIV and TB, Taiwan, 1993–2006*
| Characteristics | No. (%) persons | p value† |
|---|---|---|
| Sex | <0.0001 | |
| M | 612 (92.7) | |
| F |
48 (7.3) |
|
| Age, y | <0.0001 | |
| <45 | 498 (75.5) | |
| >45 |
162 (24.5) |
|
| Sputum smear (n = 484) | <0.0001 | |
| Negative | 287 (59.3) | |
| Positive |
197 (40.7) |
|
| Sputum culture (n = 340) | 0.0172 | |
| Negative | 148 (43.5) | |
| Positive |
192 (56.5) |
|
| Pulmonary radiograph results (n = 531) | <0.0001 | |
| Normal | 54 (10.2) | |
| Abnormal |
477 (89.8) |
|
| Extrapulmonary TB‡ | <0.0001 | |
| Yes | 73 (11.1) | |
| No |
587 (88.9) |
|
| Risk behavior (n = 554) | <0.0001 | |
| Sexual | 513 (92.6) | |
| Injection drug user |
41 (7.4) |
|
| Sexual behavior (n = 566) | 0.0004 | |
| Heterosexual | 325 (57.4) | |
| Homosexual or bisexual |
241 (42.6) |
|
| Highly active antiretroviral therapy‡ (n = 534) | <0.0001 | |
| 1998–2006 (free) | 493 (92.3) | |
| 1993–1996 (not free) |
41 (7.7) |
|
| National web-based surveillance reporting and management system (n = 520) | <0.0001 | |
| 2002–2006 (available) | 386 (74.2) | |
| 1998–2000 (not available) |
134 (25.8) |
|
| Outcome§ (n = 606) | <0.0001 | |
| Survival | 522 (86.1) | |
| Death | 84 (13.9) |
*TB, tuberculosis.
†χ2 goodness-of-fit test with type I error = 0.05 used to examine differences in demographic, clinical, and behavioral characteristics.
‡Definition following World Health Organization guideline (1).
§Tracking for 1 year from report of TB diagnosis.
