Cuixiao Liu,1 Rui Jing,1 Shasha Li,1 Wenqian Zhang,1 Yiran Dong,1 Hui Dong,1 Ran Xue,1 Jin Jin,2 Yan Ju3 

1Institute for Tuberculosis Control, Jinan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Jinan, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Prevention and Control, Shandong Public Health Clinical Center, Jinan, People’s Republic of China; 3Medical Office, Shandong Experimental High School, Jinan, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Jin Jin, Department of Prevention and Control, Shandong Public Health Clinical Center, No. 2999 Tourist Road, Jinan, 250100, People’s Republic of China, Email sdjinjin@163.com Yan Ju, Medical Office, Shandong Experimental High School, No. 73 Jingqi Road, Jinan, 250000, People’s Republic of China, Email Yanju215@outlook.com

Purpose: To investigate and evaluate factors associated with completion of tuberculosis preventive treatment (TPT) among college students with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI).
Patients and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 399 LTBI college students who initiated TPT in Shandong Province, China. TPT completion rates were determined. Factors associated with TPT completion were assessed by multivariate logistic regression analysis.
Results: Of the 399 students initially initiated TPT, 364 (91.2%) eventually completed treatment. Non-medical students were more likely than medical students to discontinue TPT early [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.31, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.13– 0.78; E-value = 1.79). Students with higher family income (aOR = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.12– 0.60; E-value = 1.94) and higher education levels (aOR = 0.08, 95% CI: 0.02– 0.31; E-value = 3.48) were less likely to complete the TPT. Students who did not experience adverse reactions during medication (aOR = 9.46, 95% CI: 2.67– 33.64; E-value = 3.08) were more likely to complete TPT. E-value analysis showed robustness to unmeasured confounders.
Conclusion: Standardized medication management is critical to the completion of preventive treatment. To improve TPT adherence, we suggest tailored interventions based on factors associated with TPT completion, such as the individual (type of student, level of education, incidence of adverse events) and family characteristics (household income) of college students with LTBI, are identified as improving LTBI treatment completion.

Keywords: latent tuberculosis, treatment completion, chemoprophylaxis, prevention