Open AccessIs the directly observed therapy short course (DOTS) an effective strategy for tuberculosis control in a developing country?
Author(s) -
Akaninyene Otu
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
asian pacific journal of tropical disease
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.208
H-Index - 33
ISSN - 2222-1808
DOI - 10.1016/s2222-1808(13)60045-6
Subject(s) - short course , tuberculosis , developing country , tuberculosis control , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , medicine , antiretroviral therapy , directly observed therapy , cornerstone , virology , family medicine , immunology , pediatrics , biology , viral load , pathology , geography , archaeology , ecology
Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of the directly observed therapy short course (DOTS)\udstrategy in tuberculosis control in developing countries. Methods: Secondary data was searched\udto identify relevant publications. Databases, organizational websites and search engines were\udutilized. Sort criteria were then applied to further limit the articles used. Results: A total of\ud50 articles were found. Abstracts of the 50 articles were then scrutinized and 26 that met the\udinclusion criteria were identified. Full length copies of these articles were obtained and analysed\udto extract salient details which were relevant to the research question. Conclusions: DOTS as a\udwhole remains the cornerstone of tuberculosis control in developing countries. In the setting of\udhigh human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection rates and HIV/tuberculosis co-infection,\udthere is a pressing need to modify DOTS to increase its relevance