• Jinsoo Min, Yousang Ko, Hyung Woo Kim, Hyeon-Kyoung Koo, Jee Youn Oh, Yun-Jeong Jeong, Hyeon Hui Kang, ParkKwang JooKJhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5870-1836Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea., Yong Il Hwang, Jin Woo Kim, Joong Hyun Ahn, Yangjin Jegal, Ji Young Kang, Sung-Soon Lee, Jae Seuk Park, and Ju Sang Kim.
• Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Daejeon St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
• J. Korean Med. Sci. 2022 Jan 17; 37 (3): e20.

BackgroundThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused disruptions to healthcare systems, consequently endangering tuberculosis (TB) control. We investigated delays in TB treatment among notified patients during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Korea.MethodsWe systemically collected and analyzed data from the Korea TB cohort database from January to May 2020. Groups were categorized as 'before-pandemic' and 'during-pandemic' based on TB notification period. Presentation delay was defined as the period between initial onset of symptoms and the first hospital visit, and healthcare delay as the period between the first hospital visit and anti-TB treatment initiation. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate factors associated with delays in TB treatment.ResultsProportion of presentation delay > 14 days was not significantly different between two groups (48.3% vs. 43.7%, P = 0.067); however, proportion of healthcare delay > 5 days was significantly higher in the during-pandemic group (48.6% vs. 42.3%, P = 0.012). In multivariate analysis, the during-pandemic group was significantly associated with healthcare delay > 5 days (adjusted odds ratio = 0.884, 95% confidence interval = 0.715-1.094).ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic was associated with healthcare delay of > 5 days in Korea. Public health interventions are necessary to minimize the pandemic's impact on the national TB control project.© 2022 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

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