Risk factors for catastrophic costs associated with tuberculosis in rural South Africa

SETTING Fifty-five public clinics in northern South Africa. OBJECTIVE To estimate patient costs and identify the factors associated with catastrophic costs among individuals treated for tuberculosis (TB). DESIGN We performed cross-sectional interviews of consecutive patients at public clinics from October 2017 to January 2018. 'Catastrophic costs' were defined as costs totalling ≥20% of annual household income. For participants with no reported income, we considered scenarios where costs were considered non-catastrophic if 1) costs totalled