Comparison of outcomes from a district tuberculosis control programme in the Pacific: before and after the implementation of DOTS

Outcomes are compared for a district tuberculosis (TB) control programme, before and after DOTS (directly observed therapy short-course) and a computerized register were introduced. There were significant improvements in case holding associated with the interventions. The successful treatment rate was 13.6% [95% CI (confidence interval), 4.9-23.0] higher and the default rate 9.6% (95% CI, 3.6-17.3) lower following the introduction of DOTS and the computerized register. There was no difference in cure rates or death rates, the notification of new cases, the proportion of pulmonary cases or sputum positives. Additional benefits associated with the computerized register were improvements in supervision, reporting and statistical analysis. The short-course chemotherapy permitted flexibility and was well accepted by both health staff and patients. This study demonstrates that computerization of TB registration using appropriate software is feasible in district TB programmes in resource poor countries and can contribute to improving their performance.     

Tuberculosis drug resistance and treatment outcomes under DOTS settings in large cities in the Philippines.

SETTING: Two large cities in the Philippines. OBJECTIVES: To describe the problems of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) in an urban setting, with special emphasis on their potential impact on the treatment services provided by the National TB Control Programme. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey and cohort analysis of treatment outcomes. METHODS: All patients with positive sputum smear examination results in Cebu and Mandaue cities during the survey period were included. The survey procedures of the World Health Organization and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease were strictly applied. Treatment outcome data were also collected. RESULTS: Of 306 cases enrolled, 255 were new cases, 28 were previously treated and for 23 treatment history was unknown. Of the new cases, 72.2% were pan-susceptible to all four first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs. Resistance in new cases was 16.9% to isoniazid (INH), 4.7% to rifampicin (RMP), 3.1% to ethambutol, 18.0% to streptomycin, and 3.9% to at least both INH and RMP (multidrug-resistant [MDR]). Over 90% of the new cases, either pan-susceptible or mono-resistant, were successfully treated with the standard regimen, but four of nine MDR new cases could not be cured. CONCLUSION: The drug resistance level was high in this population, but treatment outcome using the standard treatment regimen was not seriously affected unless the patients were MDR.     

DOTS implementation in a middle-income country: development and evaluation of a novel approach.

BACKGROUND: DOTS is widely accepted as the most cost-effective strategy for tuberculosis (TB) control. However, there is little published information regarding methods for implementation in middle-income countries. METHODS: Over 3 years, the Canadian Lung Association assisted the Ecuadorian TB programme to implement DOTS for over half the nation's total population. A multilevel strategy developed by a team of Ecuadorian health professionals provided initial, in-service, replica and reinforcement training at the local level, and training at national level for specialist physicians, specialist societies and medical schools. Evaluation was based on international guidelines for case finding, treatment and laboratory quality control, and costs of all implementation activities. RESULTS: By January 2004, DOTS training had been provided to 1954 health professionals and 199 smear microscopy technicians, and DOTS was implemented in all 496 health facilities. Case detection activities at the local level increased substantially. Cure and treatment completion improved to 83% of new cases. Overall concordance of laboratory quality control readings was 98.7%. The total cost of DOTS implementation was US dollar 3 049 585. CONCLUSIONS: To achieve international targets for TB control, DOTS implementation in a middle-income country required intensive training at the local level and at multiple other levels.     

Tuberculosis epidemiology in six provinces of Vietnam after the introduction of the DOTS strategy.

SETTING: Six provinces in Vietnam where the DOTS strategy was introduced in 1989. OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of improved tuberculosis (TB) control on TB epidemiology in Vietnam. METHODS: Data from the surveillance system in the period 1990-2003 were analysed to assess trends of notification rates and the mean ages of notified cases. Data from repeated tuberculin surveys in the period 1986-2002 were estimated to assess the prevalence of TB infection, the annual risk of infection and its trend using various cut-off points in those with and without bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) scar. RESULTS: Age-standardised notification rates in the period 1996-2003 declined significantly, by 2.6% to 5.9% per year, in five provinces. However, in four provinces notification rates in the age group 15-24 years increased significantly, by 4.5% to 13.6% per year, during this period. The mean age of newly diagnosed patients with smear-positive TB increased up to 1995 but decreased thereafter. The annual risk of TB infection showed a significant annual decrease (4.9% per year) in one province in surveys performed between 1986 and 1997, and in two provinces (6.6% and 4.7%) in surveys conducted between 1993 and 2002. CONCLUSION: These data suggest limited impact to date of the DOTS strategy in Vietnam.     

Joining the DOTS in Bali: private practitioners' perceptions of tuberculosis control.

SETTING: The Indonesian island of Bali has both a national public tuberculosis (TB) programme and a significant private sector that provides treatment for patients with TB. OBJECTIVE: To explore private practitioners' perceptions of barriers to the treatment of patients with TB in Bali to inform strategies for future programme development. DESIGN: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with private practitioners who treated TB patients in their private practice. RESULTS: The main barriers to improved TB control in Bali identified by private practitioners reflect difficulties encountered within the following four areas: patient nonadherence to treatment, limitations of public services, public-private integration and limitations of private services. Private practitioners identified the need for improvements in the level of community education regarding TB, the degree of public-private interaction, the quality of diagnostic services and practitioner access to training. CONCLUSION: This study identified both strengths and weaknesses for TB control in the private sector, as well as considerable variations in perceptions and practice among private practitioners. The development of strategies to address these difficulties and utilise the inherent strengths of both public and private practitioners will be essential for improved service provision and TB control in Bali.     

Malaria prevention and control in Bhutan: successes and challenges

This paper highlights on the current malaria situations in Bhutan and its challenges for future prevention and control strategies. In Bhutan, malaria affects more than half of the entire population, mostly residing in the southern districts bordering with Indian states of Assam and West Bengal. Over the past ten years, due to concerted efforts, the morbidity and mortality due to malaria has significantly declined. These preventive and control measures focused on the mass distribution of long lasting insecticidal treated nets, focal indoor residual spray and use of artemisinin-based combination therapies. However, considerable challenge lies ahead and research is needed to generate local evidence for sustainable elimination of malaria from Bhutan. The article should be of value and interest to planners, malaria programs and for future researchers on malaria in Bhutan.     

Dissemination of the hospital elder life program: implementation, adaptation, and successes

OBJECTIVES: To describe the Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) across dissemination sites, to detail adaptations, and to summarize advantages across sites. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: HELP sites in acute care hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: Thirteen sites that enrolled 11,344 patients. MEASUREMENTS: Seventy-five closed- and open-ended questions describing details of the HELP site, procedures, staffing, outcomes tracked, and advantages. RESULTS: As of July 1, 2005, HELP had been fully implemented in 13 sites, with a median duration of 24 months (range 6.0-38.0). Although a high degree of fidelity to the original model was maintained, variations existed in staffing patterns, outcome tracking, and recommended HELP procedures. Adaptations were made across multiple domains, including enrollment criteria at 15.4% of sites, screening and assessment tools at 61.5%, and individual intervention protocols at 15.4% to 30.8%. Local circumstances drove these adaptations, with the most common reasons being lack of adequate staffing and logistical constraints. All sites conducted regular HELP staff meetings; other recommended quality assurance procedures were conducted at 46.2% to 92.3% of sites. Reported advantages of HELP included providing an educational resource at 100% of sites, improving hospital outcomes (e.g., delirium and functional decline) at 100%, providing nursing education and improving retention at 100%, enhancing patient and family satisfaction with care at 92.3%, raising visibility for geriatrics at 92.3%, and improving quality of care at 84.6%. CONCLUSION: This report describes the real-world implementation of HELP across 13 sites, documents their local adaptations and successes, and provides insight into how motivated institutions can create change to improve quality of care for older persons.     

滨州市2001～2010年肺结核发病情况及DOTS策略实施的效果

目的了解滨州市《规划》实施情况,评价DOTS策略的执行效果。方法通过对2001年～2010年登记管理的病人,以病人登记本、月报、季报和年报为来源,进行患病登记率、流行特征、DOTS策略执行情况进行分析。结果 2001年～2010年登记患病率为35.65/10万,新涂阳登记率24.39/10万;治愈率为92.07%;避免63 164人感染结核菌,避免5 667人发病。结论滨州市积极推行现代结核病控制策略,结核病人的发现率和治愈率显著提高。     

DOTS implementation in a post-war, United Nations-administered territory: lessons from Kosovo

SETTING: The WHO-recommended strategy of tuberculosis control (DOTS strategy) has been shown to be effective in reducing tuberculosis incidence in a variety of countries/ settings. Little evidence exists on the implementation, and effectiveness of DOTS in a transitional, post-war setting OBJECTIVE: To describe the process of establishing a National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTP) and implementing DOTS throughout Kosovo, and the outcomes achieved by this international collaboration in a post-war transitional setting during 1999-2005. METHODS: In 1999, as part of the re-organization of health services, a DOTS-based NTP was established and operationalized through a collaboration of several international partners in Kosovo. Five key steps supported these activities. RESULTS: Kosovo has reached the World Health Assembly targets, having achieved 75% case detection rate (sputum smear-positive cases) and 93% treatment success rate. During 2000-2005, new smear-positive tuberculosis case notifications decreased by 44.5% (median annual decrease for all cases: 7.6%). CONCLUSIONS: Kosovo's success story is a collaborative tale, each partner involved playing a unique role in supporting NTP activities. The Kosovo example provides yet another setting in which DOTS implementation has resulted in successful patient outcomes. The international TB control community would be well-served by formal guidelines for implementing DOTS and the new STOP TB Strategy in these settings.     

Tuberculosis control programme in Beijing.

Since 1978 a new tuberculosis control programme based on modern concepts has been started in Beijing. The main goals of the programme were: (1) To prioritize the control of sources of infection; (2) to instigate fully supervised treatment (FST) for new smear-positive patients; (3) to extend services to the rural areas. A four-level network of tuberculosis control services has been organized both in urban and rural areas. Tuberculosis control has been integrated into rural primary health care. Coverage of FST among new smear-positive cases increased to 93% in 1990. A standard regimen, 1HS/11H2S2 has been used for initial treatment. A reserve regimen of RFP and EMB was added to those who failed to convert in 6 months. Since 1988 a 6-month intermittent short-course regimen has been introduced as standard regimen. Case-finding has been intensified since 1980 through symptomatics. Control of chronic excreters was achieved through FST of new smear-positive cases and fully supervised retreatment of old chronic cases. The new tuberculosis control programme has proved highly successful in controlling sources of infection. The prevalence of smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis in Beijing during the national surveys in 1979, 1984-1985 and 1990 was 127, 56 and 16 per 100,000 respectively. The average annual reduction rate was 17%. This successful experiment has been recognized as a model for the whole country.     

Profile of geriatric patients under DOTS in Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme

BACKGROUND: With an increase in life expectancy and the resultant elderly population, there has been an increase in the number of tuberculosis (TB) cases including those in geriatric age as well. However using Directly Observed Treatment-Short Course (DOTS), all categories of TB patients have been sucessfully treated within the country. A need was felt to study the profile of geriatric TB patients under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP). METHODS: A retrospective study of 7439 patients enrolled under DOTS from January 1996 to March 2001 was carried out in a tertiary care referral institute in Delhi and the profile was analysed in terms of the gender, type of TB and ratio of sputum smear-positive to negative patients for both the younger and geriatric age groups. Further, treatment outcomes of the two age groups were analysed and compared for the 2655 new sputum smear patients. RESULTS: The male : female ratio of 315 geriatric TB patients enrolled under DOTS was observed to be 3 : 1 as against the 1.4 : 1 in younger TB patients. The occurrence of pulmonary TB was significantly higher than extra-pulmonary TB in geriatric age group (16:1) as compared to the younger age group (4:1). The ratio of new smear-positive to smear-negative patients was almost similar in the two age groups. Further, the treatment outcomes of new smear-positive geriatric TB patients in comparison to younger TB patients showed significantly lower sputum conversion (75.3% vs 85.7% respectively) and cure rates (69.2% vs 80.7% respectively), significantly higher exclusion rates from DOTS (2.3% vs 0.15% respectively) and relatively higher default and treatment failure rates. CONCLUSIONS: The present study has identified certain issues in the Indian TB patients of geriatric age. These include a lower reported prevalence amongst females, poor sputum conversion as well as cure rates and higher exclusion as well as default rates. Further studies are needed to address the issues under operational conditions of Indian RNTCP.     

The role of DOTS in tuberculosis treatment and control

Directly Observed Therapy Shortcourse (DOTS) is composed of five distinct elements: political commitment; microscopy services; drug supplies; surveillance and monitoring systems and use of highly efficacious regimens; and direct observation of treatment. The difference in the way the term 'DOTS' as defined by WHO and interpreted by many observers has led to some misunderstanding. WHO generally uses the term to mean the five components of DOTS. But the word 'DOTS' is an acronym for Directly Observed Therapy Shortcourse. Many workers therefore interpret DOTS purely as direct supervision of therapy. DOTS is not an end in itself but a means to an end. In fact it has two purposes, to ensure that the patient with tuberculosis (TB) completes therapy to cure and to prevent drug resistance from developing in the community. The main criticism of DOTS rightly derives from the fact that some properly conducted randomized, controlled trials of directly observed therapy with or without the other components have shown no benefit from it. The problem is that it is impossible to design a study of modern directly observed therapy against the previous self-administered, poorly-resourced programs. As soon as a study is implemented, the attention to patients in the control (non-directly observed therapy) arm inevitably improves from the previous non-trial service situation. What is of concern is that in some trials less than 70% cure rates were achieved even in the direct observation arm. With no new drugs or adjuvant treatment available to bring the length of treatment down to substantially less than 6 months, DOTS offers the best means we have at our disposal for TB control.