Post-tuberculosis health-related quality of life, lung function and exercise capacity in a cured pulmonary tuberculosis population in the Breede Valley District, South Africa.
Kurt J Daniels, Elvis Irusen, Hamilton Pharaoh and 1 others
PMID 31392293WHAT IT FOUND
Cured pulmonary TB patients reported poor quality of life, walked 294.1 m on average, and 48% had abnormal lung function.
Mental health scores were worse than physical health scores.
Key findings
01Both physical and mental quality of life scores were below the population norm, and mental health scores were worse than physical health scores.
02The mean 6MWT distance was 294.1 m, and 48% of patients had abnormal lung function patterns.
03Lung function was weakly associated with walking distance, but not significantly associated with perceived physical or mental health.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Only 45 of 324 patients were recruited, and 206 were not contactable, so the sample may not represent all cured TB patients. The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show whether the problems cause each other or improve over time. The BOLD questionnaire had not been used before in this rural population, and its length may have affected answers. The 6MWT course was shortened to 20 m or 10 m, so the distances cannot be compared directly with standard 30 m reference values. 78% had a smoking history or occupational dust exposure, so lung function abnormalities may not be due to tuberculosis alone.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat these findings as proof that a rehabilitation programme will improve outcomes, because the study did not test one. It also cannot show that tuberculosis alone caused the lung function abnormalities, because 78% had a smoking history or occupational dust exposure.