title: Weight variation over time and its relevance among multidrug-resistant tuberculosis patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to assess the variation in patient body weight over time according to the treatment outcome among multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) cases.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a retrospective cohort study. The data of patients commencing MDR-TB therapy were analyzed. Data were collected from different public TB treatment facilities located in peri-urban areas to the south of Lima, Peru. The outcome was patient body weight (kilograms) from treatment commencement, measured monthly. A random effects model was fitted using robust standard errors to calculate 95% confidence intervals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of a total of 1242 TB cases, 243 (19.6%) were MDR-TB. Only 201 cases were included in the analysis; 127 (63.2%) were males and the mean patient age was 33.6 (standard deviation 16.2) years. Weight changes over time among the patients who were cured differed from changes in those who died during therapy (p<0.001). Weight curve divergence was important at the end of the third, fourth, and fifth treatment months: on average, the weight difference was 2.18kg (p<0.001), 3.27kg (p=0.007), and 3.58kg (p=0.03), respectively, when cured patients were compared to those who died.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results show that weight variation during treatment can be a useful surrogate for the treatment outcome, specifically death during therapy. MDR-TB patients with weight loss should be followed more closely, as they are at greater risk of death.
authors.affiliation: Escuela de Medicina, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC), Lima, Peru; Sociedad Científica de Estudiantes de Medicina (SOCIEMUPC), Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Kocfa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chung-Delgado
authors.affiliation: Escuela de Medicina, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC), Lima, Peru; Sociedad Científica de Estudiantes de Medicina (SOCIEMUPC), Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Revilla-Montag
authors.affiliation: Escuela de Medicina, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC), Lima, Peru; Sociedad Científica de Estudiantes de Medicina (SOCIEMUPC), Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guillén-Bravo
authors.affiliation: Escuela de Medicina, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC), Lima, Peru; School of Public Health and Administration, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru. Electronic address: antonio.bernabe@upch.pe.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bernabe-Ortiz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010568:Peru / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D018088:Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents
keywords: Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis; Treatment outcome; Tuberculosis; Weight