Physicians' approach to the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis in Afyon, Turkey.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate physicians' approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis in Afyon, Turkey.


METHODS
A questionnaire on tuberculosis was filled out by 208 physicians (46 specialists and 162 general practitioners).


RESULTS
Bacteriology was the preferred method of diagnosis among 75% (n = 156) of the physicians. For treatment of newly diagnosed tuberculosis, 64.4% prescribed a three-drug and 30.8% a four-drug combination. The combination most often selected was HRE (36.5%). Preferred treatment durations were 9 (38.5%) and 6 (34.6%) months. For patients with treatment failure, 20.2% of the physicians would add a new drug to the existing regimen, while 65.4% would refer the patient to a specialised tuberculosis unit. For the treatment of childhood tuberculosis, 38.5% of the physicians thought a two-drug treatment was adequate. For tuberculosis during pregnancy, 9.7% of the physicians offered treatment after the pregnancy, while 11.5% offered treatment after abortion.


CONCLUSIONS
The knowledge of the physicians about the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis was deemed insufficient. Additional educational resources for physicians may contribute to improvements in tuberculosis control.
Cirit
M
M
Department of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis, Afyon Kocatepe University Medical School, Afyon, Turkey. egemencirit@hotmail.com
Orman
A
A
Unlü
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D013997:Time Factors; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014421:Turkey
D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D004338:Drug Combinations