Evaluation of The Effectiveness of a Direct Observed Therapy Program With Vietnamese Tuberculosis Patients

Tuberculosis (TB) has long been recognized as a major public health problem. The rate of TB is high in immigrants and the frequency of drug resistance is increasing. A major reason for the development of resistant infections as well as relapse is poor adherence to TB treatment. In response to this problem, direct observed therapy (DOT) was introduced to the TB program in Santa Clara County in 1993. The purpose of this study is to compare the completion rates, relapse rates, and sputum conversion rates between a DOT group and a non-DOT group of Vietnamese TB patients. A chart review was completed with a convenience sample of 25 records of DOT patients and 25 records of non-DOT patients. Frequencies and percentages were used to analyze the completion rates and the relapse rates. The results show that the completion of therapy rate was 16% higher in the DOT group and the relapse rate was 8% lower. A t-test indicated that the sputum conversion rate was significantly more rapid in the DOT group than in the non-DOT group (p \u3c.05). It appears that Vietnamese TB patients benefit from the DOT program