Home based care to multi-drug resistant tuberculosis patients: A pilot study

Abstract Background India is a high tuberculosis burden and large population setting country. Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis patient has to undergo 24–27 months treatment and is expected to adhere to it. There is a need to increase compliance of MDR Regimen in MDR-TB cases, to prevent its further spread. The present study focuses on describing the role of home care support with counseling in the outcome of MDR-TB patients, in Delhi, India. Material and methods This is a prospective study carried out at a Community Health Centre, Delhi, involving 113 MDR-TB patients as and when they got registered with DOTS Plus centres, in two government hospitals of Delhi between August 2009 and March 2010. The study period was August 2009 to October 2012. These patients received daily MDR Regimen from their respective DOTS Providers. The patients' names and addresses were taken from the lists supplied by these hospitals. Final analysis was carried out for 101 MDR-TB cases. Results Out of 101 patients treatment outcomes were: 69.3% cured and 2.0% treatment completed (treatment success rate 71.3%). A low default rate of 6.9% was seen which is assumed to be due to the home based care. Conclusion These results indicate that Home based care with counseling support is an important intervention in management of MDR-TB patients and it needs to be substantiated by further research.