Treatment Outcome of Pulmonary and Extra Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients in TB and Chest Disease Hospital DOT Centre, Goa, India

In India, on the recommendations of an expert committee, Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) was pilot tested in 1993 and launched in 1997. It was gradually expanded to cover the whole country by March 2006. Under RNTCP Directly Observed Short-course (DOTS) strategy is used to treat TB patients. Main objectives of RNTCP are to achieve and maintain a cure rate of 85% among new sputum positive cases and to achieve and maintain case detection of 70% (Managing the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme, 2005). Since the inception of RNTCP in India, the programme has initiated over 13.8 million patients on treatment, thus saving more than 2.8 million additional lives. (TB India, 2011)