TB Treatment with DOT: RCT vs. Effective Program Management

Phanchai RATTANASUWAN

Authors

Phanchai RATTANASUWAN School of Medicine, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80161

Keywords:

Tuberculosis, DOT, RCT

Abstract

In the area of Directly-Observed Treatment (DOT), one of 5 essential elements of Directly-Observed Treatment, Short-course (DOTS)- the internationally accepted strategy to combat tuberculosis (TB) promoted by the World Health Organization (WHO) - its usefulness has been continuously debated. Many researchers have tried to conduct randomized controlled trials (RCT) to explore its effectiveness. The results have always led to the conclusion that DOT and self-administration (SA) could produce the same treatment outcomes. However, RCT should be conducted under ideal conditions to develop the efficacy of TB drug regimens, and it may not be necessary for it to be conducted in the field under routine circumstances to find out the effectiveness. Instead of RCT, effective management is needed in the fields, both at program level and at individual level, to produce TB treatment outcomes that come close to the efficacy of TB drug regimens.

doi:10.14456/WJST.2015.70

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