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Abstract
Objective
To realize a retrospective study of the characterization, results, and effectiveness of directly observed therapy, short course (DOTS) in the regional health area of Santiago de Compostela (population 453 068) between 1996 and 2006.
Design
Tuberculosis (TB) patient cases involved in DOTS treatment were reviewed. The studied variables included: age, sex, type of TB, TB location, microbiological studies, chest radiology, pattern and treatment duration, final status of case, and TB recurrence.
Results
There were 2456 diagnosed TB cases in the time period studied and 259 received DOTS. The reasons for inclusion in this treatment strategy were social dystocia in 33.2% of cases, retreatment in 30.8% of cases, alcoholism in 29.3% of cases, drug use in 17.4% of cases, HIV coinfection in 11.6% of cases, multidrug-resistant strains of TB (MDR-TB) in 3.1%, and being an immigrant in 1.9% of cases. Primary TB represented 3.5% of the instances and pulmonary TB represented 87.6%. Bacteriological confirmation was performed in 76.8% of this population. Cavitated forms in chest radiology were shown in 46.7% of patients. Standard treatment guidelines were used in 71.4% of patients. Treatment adherence was achieved in 96.1% of the cases and 86.9% cases had a successful final status. Recurrence of TB was 1.5%.
Conclusion
Although it is not possible to determine the exact influence of the DOTS strategy, its introduction under the conditions of the Galician Program for Prevention and Control of Tuberculosis (GPPCT)Citation5 has worked to improve the control of tuberculosis in our health area.
Disclosures
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.