Inappropriate use of Tuberculosis medications among TB patients in Vientiane capital, Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is an important communicable disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which has been declared a global public health emergency by World Health Organization. Objectives: To study the inappropriate use of anti-tuberculosis medications among tuberculosis patients in Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional survey, conducted in three central hospitals in Vientiane Capital. The study focused on tuberculosis patients aged 18 and older who were receiving anti-tuberculosis drug treatment. The sample was selected using a random sampling method. Data collected from face-to-face interviews were analysed with descriptive statistics and chi-squared tests using statistical analysis software (IBM SPSS, version 17). Results: The study involved 221 participants of whom 60.6% were men, and 31.2% of all patients were between 29 and 39 years old. 36.3% of participants were found to have low knowledge regarding appropriate medication use and practices. Nearly 81.4% of participants answered incorrectly or did not know that tuberculosis can be resistant to medication. In total, 38.9% of the participants used inappropriate drugs, 29.0% did not take their medication on time every day, and 20.4% forgot to take medication. The study found inappropriate medication administration or behaviours were associated with increased risk of treatment failure or disease recurrence (ꭓ2 = 4.73, P-value < 0.05). Conclusion: Inappropriate medication use among those treated for TB is common in Lao PDR. This raises concerns about possible treatment failure and increased risk of drug-resistant tuberculosis in the sample group.