title: Compliance with tuberculosis treatment after the implementation of the directly observed treatment, short-course strategy in the city of Carapicuíba, Brazil.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the compliance with tuberculosis treatment among patients enrolled the tuberculosis control program in the city of Carapicuíba, Brazil, before and after the implementation of the directly observed treatment, short-course (DOTS) strategy.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective historical cohort study of operational aspects based on records of attendance and treatment evolution of patients in self-administered treatment (SAT) and of those submitted to DOTS. Monthly treatment outcome tables were created, and the probability of compliance with the treatment was calculated for both groups of patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 360 patients with tuberculosis met the inclusion criteria: 173 (48.1%) in the SAT group; and 187 (51.9%) in the DOTS group. Treatment compliance was 6.1% higher in the DOTS group than in the SAT group. The proportion of patients completing the six months of treatment was 91.6% and 85.5% in the DOTS group and in the SAT group, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study show that DOTS can be successfully implemented at primary health care clinics. In this population of patients, residents of a city with low incomes and a high burden of tuberculosis infection, DOTS was more effective than was SAT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine of the Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. vieiratb@gmail.com
authors.forename: Amadeu Antonio
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Vieira
authors.forename: Sandra Aparecida
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D023801:Directly Observed Therapy / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012646:Self Administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D055815:Young Adult; D016903:Drug Monitoring