Providing personalised care for people with tuberculosis: an evaluation of enhanced case management in a UK TB Network 2013 to 2021

Objectives: Evaluating the outcomes of enhanced case management (ECM) for patients with tuberculosis (TB) in the North Central London TB Service (NCLTBS).

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: The NCLTBS provides care for persons diagnosed with TB across north and central London. Management involves both medical and psychosocial support, leading to the implementation ECM to provide additional non-clinical assistance to patients at risk of treatment non-completion. However, there has been limited evaluation of its outcomes.

Participants: All adults with TB notified to NCLTBS between January 2013 and June 2021.

Main outcome measures: Descriptive socio-economic and clinical characteristics grouped by binary ECM status (yes/no) and level (0-3). Clinical outcomes at 12 months (completed treatment, death, lost-to-follow-up, continuing on treatment) were compared using multivariable logistic regression.

Results: Totally, 2437 patients were included (57.2% male, 79.1% born outside the UK). Overall, 82.3% completed treatment and 4.1% died. Factors associated with mortality included older age (over 70 years odds ratio (OR) 3.3), inpatient diagnosis (OR 4.4), and mental health issues (OR 2.2). 52.8% received ECM, with the proportion increasing over time, and 76% of this group successfully competed treatment.

Conclusions: This comprehensive evaluation of ECM in a diverse London population indicates high treatment completion rates even among those with multiple social risk factors. However, ECM needs of patients has increased over time, with a particular rise in patients requiring the highest support level. Given the small difference between standard care and ECM categories 1 and 2, there may be scope to simplify the system.