Development of a nomogram for predicting treatment default under facility-based directly observed therapy short-course in a region with a high tuberculosis burden.

BACKGROUND

Poor adherence to tuberculosis (TB) treatment is a substantial barrier to global TB control. The aim of this study was to construct a nomogram for predicting the probability of TB treatment default.

METHODS

A total of 1185 TB patients who had received treatment between 2010 and 2011 in Peru were analyzed in this study. Patient demographics, social, and medical information were recorded. Predictors were selected by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis, and a nomogram for predicting TB treatment default was constructed by using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Bootstrapping method was applied for internal validation. Calibration and clinical utility of the nomogram was also evaluated.

RESULTS

The incidence of TB treatment default among the study patients was 11.6% (138/1185). Six predictors (secondary education status, alcohol use, illegal drug use, body mass index, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, and human immunodeficiency virus serostatus) were selected through the LASSO regression analysis. A nomogram was developed based on the six predictors and it yielded an area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.797 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.755-0.839]. In the internal validation, the AUC achieved 0.805 (95% CI, 0.759-0.844). Additionally, the nomogram was well-calibrated, and it showed clinical utility in decision curve analysis.

CONCLUSION

A nomogram was constructed that incorporates six characteristics of the TB patients, which provides a good reference for predicting TB treatment default.