10-year assessment of treatment outcome among Cambodian refugees with sputum smear-positive tuberculosis in Khao-I-Dang, Thailand.
Tuberculosis control among displaced persons is fraught with difficulties to ensure adherence of patients to treatment for a prolonged period of time. In the Khao-I-Dang camp for Cambodian refugees an approach with daily, directly observed treatment throughout the course of 6 months duration was chosen to address the problem. Of a total 929 patients with sputum smear-positive tuberculosis who were enrolled from 1981 to 1990, 5.0% died, 75.5% completed treatment and were bacteriologically cured with a day-to-day adherence of more than 98%, none failed bacteriologically, 19.2% were transferred to another camp where continuation of treatment was guaranteed, and only 0.4% absconded from treatment. These data suggest that the approach to tuberculosis control in this refugee camp was very effective in cutting the chain of transmission of tuberculosis in a highly mobile population and in reducing substantially unnecessary morbidity and mortality.
Sukrakanchana-Trikham
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Médecins sans Frontières Tuberculosis Programme, Khao-I-Dang, Prachinburi, Thailand.
Puéchal
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Rigal
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Rieder
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002160:Cambodia / Q000208:ethnology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010349:Patient Compliance; D012036:Refugees; D012737:Sex Factors; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology; D013785:Thailand; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology