Title
Knowledge, attitude and practice in tuberculosis treatment among HIV-positive patients: Association with sputum conversion-A mixed-methods study
Authors
Loisen Nathan Daniel1, Amirtha Manoharan2, Anant Fulse3, Mohamed Reda Khafagy4,*, Dhivya Mohan5 & Aswathy T Menon6
Affiliation
1Department of Emergency Medicine, Best Hospital, Tamil Nadu, India; 2Department of Medicine, Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital, Chromepet, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India; 3Department of Anatomy, NKP Salve Institute of Medical Sciences & RC and Lata Mangeshkar Hospital, Nagpur, India; 4Department of Emergency Medicine, Essex, United Kingdom, 5Department of Medicine, Aarupadai Veedu Medical College and Hospital, Tamil Nadu, India; 6Department of General Medicine, Sree Balaji Medical College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India; *Corresponding author
Loisen Nathan Daniel - E-mail: isn.dnl@gmail.com; Phone: +91 866 709 8606
Amirtha Manoharan - E-mail: amirtha070889@gmail.com
Anant Fulse - E-mail: anantfulse@gmail.com
Mohamed Reda Khafagy - E-mail: mohamed.khafagy92@gmail.com; Phone: +44 7401574522
Dhivya Mohan - E-mail: drmohan.dhivya@gmail.com; Phone: +91 94443692265
Aswathy T Menon - E-mail: aswathymnn732@gmail.com; Phone: +91 9025519073
Article Type
Research Article
Date
Received April 1, 2026; Revised April 30, 2026; Accepted April 30, 2026, Published April 30, 2026
Abstract
Tuberculosis remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality among individuals living with HIV. Adherence to anti-tuberculosis therapy is essential for successful treatment and sputum conversion. Therefore, it is of interest to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) regarding tuberculosis treatment among 120 HIV-positive patients receiving first-line therapy and examined their association with sputum conversion. Structured questionnaires and follow-up interviews were administered. Sputum microscopy was performed at baseline, 2 months and 6 months. The mean total KAP score was 17.3 ± 3.8. Sputum conversion occurred in 78% at 2 months and 92% at 6 months. Higher KAP scores were significantly associated with earlier sputum conversion (p < 0.05). Thus, we show that patient awareness and adherence behaviours are strongly associated with treatment outcomes. Structured counselling and adherence-focused interventions may improve tuberculosis control in HIV-infected populations.
Keywords
Tuberculosis (TB), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), awareness, compliance, sputum conversion, knowledge, attitudes and practice (KAP)
Citation
Daniel et al. Bioinformation 22(4): 2324-2327 (2026)
Edited by
A Prashanth
ISSN
0973-2063
Publisher
License
This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
