title: Use of eCompliance, an innovative biometric system for monitoring of tuberculosis treatment in rural Uganda.
abstract: Directly observed therapy short-course (DOTS) requires direct observation of tuberculosis (TB) patients and manual recording of doses taken. Programmatically, manual tracking is both time-consuming and prone to human error. Our project in western Uganda assessed the impact on TB treatment outcomes of a comprehensive patient support program including eCompliance, a biometric medical record device, with the aim of increasing TB patient retention. Through an observational study of 142 patients, DOTS outcomes of patients in the intervention group were compared with two control groups. Descriptive statistical comparisons, case-cohort analysis, and difference in change over time were used to assess the impact. Intervention patients had a higher cure rate than all other patients (55.6% versus 28.3% [P < 0.01]) and the odds of having a "cured" outcome were 3.17 higher (P < 0.05). The intervention group had a statistically significantly lower odds of having a negative outcome (0% versus.17% [P < 0.01]) than patients from the control groups. Additionally, the intervention group had a lost to follow-up rate lower than all other groups (0% versus 7%) that was trending on significant. In resource-limited settings, implementing comprehensive DOTS including eCompliance may reduce the occurrence of negative DOTS outcomes for patients.
authors.affiliation: School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, New York; Millennium Villages Project, Mbarara, Uganda; Global Health Corps; The Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York.
authors.forename: Sarah Jane
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Snidal
authors.affiliation: School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, New York; Millennium Villages Project, Mbarara, Uganda; Global Health Corps; The Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York.
authors.forename: Genevieve
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Barnard
authors.affiliation: School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, New York; Millennium Villages Project, Mbarara, Uganda; Global Health Corps; The Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York.
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Atuhairwe
authors.affiliation: School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, New York; Millennium Villages Project, Mbarara, Uganda; Global Health Corps; The Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York yba2101@columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Yanis
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ben Amor
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D056667:Biometric Identification / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D023801:Directly Observed Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012984:Software; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D014454:Uganda / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents
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