[Importance of monitoring the drug dosage and treatment duration for the management of tuberculosis patients at public health centers].
OBJECTIVE
On the basis of actual field data, we investigated the importance of monitoring the drug dosage and treatment duration for the supportive care of patients with tuberculosis who were being treated at public health centers.


METHODS
Data of the drug dosage of principal anti-tuberculosis drugs and the treatment duration for the registered patients with tuberculosis at the Shinjuku-ku Public Health Center were analyzed.


RESULTS
The actual dosage of rifampicin and isoniazid according to the "recommended" dosage was administered to 57.3% (67/117) and 82.0% (114/139), respectively, patients with tuberculosis registered at the Shinjuku-ku Public Health Center. In contrast, in patients with tuberculosis who were treated at a highly specialized tuberculosis hospital, the rates were 81.0% (98/121) and 93.5% (86/92), respectively; for both drugs, the rates were significantly higher in this hospital than in the Shinjuku-ku Public Health Center. For the treatment duration, of 92 patients registered at the Shinjuku-ku Public Health Center who could have completed standard treatment in the standard duration, the actual treatment durations were shorter than the standard duration in 15.2% of the patients (14/92; -32 to -1 days), and longer than the standard duration in 77.2% (71/92; 2 to 146 days); the total superfluous treatment days for the latter 71 patients were 1,877 days. The treatment durations were more than 2 weeks shorter or longer than the standard duration for 31 patients, and in 71.0% (22/31) of these patients, no specific reason could be determined as to why the treatment durations were not standard.


CONCLUSIONS
In a significant number of patients, the drug dosage and treatment duration were not according to the standard values. By using this data about the management of the drug dosage and treatment duration for the supportive care of patients with tuberculosis treated at public health centers, we may improve quality of the provided supportive care.
Kunihiko
K
Ito
Keiko
K
Fukuuchi
Sumi
S
Kaguraoka
Hiroyuki
H
Watanabe
Takashi
T
Yoshiyama
Minako
M
Urakawa
Youko
Y
Nagata
D000368:Aged; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016903:Drug Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014481:United States; D014492:United States Public Health Service
D000995:Antitubercular Agents