Tuberculosis management in a rural community -- factors in failure.
An investigation was carried out during 1978 to establish the proportion of tuberculosis patients who had a relapse or whose treatment had failed and who presented together with new patients with smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis at a regional hospital. Reasons for the high number of previously treated patients found in this study (35.8%) are discussed, and include the inadequate experience of the health team in tuberculosis, non-compliance of patients and geographical factors. The hospital-centered comprehensive health scheme seems to offer advantages over the district surgeon scheme in the organization of an adequate tuberculosis programme in a country area.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010352:Patient Dropouts; D012008:Recurrence; D012424:Rural Population; D013019:South Africa; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000188:drug therapy*