title: The effect of dosage cards on compliance with directly observed tuberculosis therapy in hospital.
abstract: We evaluated the effect of a dosage card signed by both patient and health worker on compliance in a tuberculosis ward. Compliance was assessed by testing a urine specimen from each patient for the presence of isoniazid and rifampicin pre-intervention and at two weeks, six weeks and 16 months post-intervention. Pre-intervention compliance was 62% and increased to 88%, 91% and 93% in the short, medium and long-term, respectively (P = 0.03, P = 0.02, P < 0.01). The assumption that directly observed therapy is successfully practised in hospital is not always correct. Simple inexpensive measures can improve compliance and have an impact on tuberculosis control.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sonnenberg
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Shearer
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Murray
mesh_terms: D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006046:Gold; D006757:Hospital Units; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008906:Mining; D010349:Patient Compliance; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D006046:Gold