Delays and loss to follow-up before treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis following implementation of Xpert MTB/RIF in South Africa: A retrospective cohort study

Abstract

In 2013, there was a large treatment gap for RR-TB in South Africa that varied significantly across provinces. Xpert implementation, while reducing treatment delay, had not contributed substantially to reducing the treatment gap in 2013. However, given improved case detection with Xpert, a larger proportion of RR-TB patients overall have received treatment, with reduced delays. Nonetheless, strategies to further improve linkage to treatment for all diagnosed RR-TB patients are urgently required.