Background: Stopping medical treatment by tuberculosis (TB) patients prior to completing treatment period is a major concern in private hospitals. We evaluated the impact of public-private mix (PPM) project on increasing treatment success rate of TB i...
Background: Stopping medical treatment by tuberculosis (TB) patients prior to completing treatment period is a major concern in private hospitals. We evaluated the impact of public-private mix (PPM) project on increasing treatment success rate of TB in a private tertiary hospital in Korea. Methods: Starting in February 2009, TB patients treated at Dankook University Hospital received health education and case monitoring activities by specially trained public health nurses (PPM project). On a retrospective basis, we reviewed medical records and compared the treatment outcome of TB patients treated under the PPM project (PPM group) to patients treated without the PPM project (control group) between January 2008 and June 2010. In addition, we also evaluated the risk factors treatment non-completion. Results: The number of patients in the PPM group and control group were 123 (85 pulmonary TB and 38 extra- pulmonary TB) and 146 (101 pulmonary TB and 45 extra-pulmonary TB), respectively. The PPM group had demographic and clinical findings comparable to those of control group. The PPM group showed a significantly higher treatment success rate (93.5%) compared to the control group (77.9%). However, development of complications, proximity to the hospital, and presence of co-morbid disease did not influence the treatment success rate. Conclusion: The PPM project was effective at increasing the TB treatment success rate. An effort to improve and to expand the PPM project is needed in private Korean hospitals.