Adherence to the MDR-TB Intensive Phase Treatment Protocol amongst Individuals Followed Up at Central and Peripheral Health Care Facilities in Uganda — A Descriptive Study
Adherence to the MDR-TB Intensive Phase Treatment Protocol amongst Individuals Followed Up at Central and Peripheral Health Care Facilities in Uganda — A Descriptive Study
By: Joseph Mukasa, Edward Kayongo, Ismael Kawooya, Deus Lukoye, Alfred Etwom, Frank Mugabe, Hannock Tweya, Rose Izizinga, Rhona Mijumbi-Deve.
Publication: African Health Sciences; 20 June 2020; 20(2):625-632. DOI: 10.4314/ahs.v20i2.10
Abstract
Following initiation of MDR-TB treatment, patients have a choice to receive follow up DOT supervision at either the central initiating facility or at a peripheral facility. The authors describe the adherence patterns of MDR-TB patients undergoing DOT supervision at the two health facility categories during intensive phase of treatment.
Result: Majority (84.01%) of the patients received their DOT supervision from the peripheral facilities. Males made up 62.1% of patients, and 91.2% had had their household contacts screened for MDR-TB. 26.5% of the patients on peripheral DOT supervision had good adherence to treatment protocol compared to 0% among patients on central initiating health facility DOT supervision. Among the patients with good adherence, 24.1% had contacts screened for MDR-TB as compared to 3.6% with poor adherence.
Conclusion: More patients preferred MDR-TB DOT supervision at peripheral facilities, which had better adherence to the treatment protocol compared to the central initiating facility. Younger people and those with household contacts screened had better adherence to the treatment protocol, highlighting areas for targeted interventional programs for MDR-TB in resource limited settings.