PP6 THE EFFICACY OF INPATIENT DOTS – A DISTRICT HOSPITAL EXPERIENCE

Syahrinnaquiah Samsuddin1, Syaza Naqibah Mohd Noor Rahim 1, Wan Jen Lye2
1Medical Department, Hospital Kuala Kubu Bharu, Selangor
2Respiratory unit, Hospital Selayang, Selangor

Introduction:

Tuberculosis remained a national burden. Treatment of tuberculosis is simple however can be lengthy which can result in high dropout rates. DOTS or directly observed therapies have been proven to reduce dropout rates and increase compliance. The objective is to show the efficacy of inpatient DOTS in our district population.

Methods:

This is a retrospective study where data collection is based on patients diagnosed with tuberculosis which can either be pulmonary or extrapulmonary who were admitted to Hospital Kuala Kubu Bharu from December 2023 until May 2024 for inpatient DOTS due to multiple reasons. All these patients were started on anti-tuberculosis. MTB Culture was taken at the start of diagnosis and in the middle of treatment to look for culture conversion. 

Results:

HKKB has 12 tuberculosis patients admitted from various places for inpatient DOTS. From these demographics, all are males, and the majority are Malaysian 91.7% (n=11) with a mean age of 46 ± 13.2 years old, and the majority are Indian 41.7% (n=5).  The mean duration of treatment was 10 ± 2.7 months. Patients were monitored daily and compliance with TB medications was maintained throughout their treatment. Out of these patients, 91.7% (n=11) achieved culture clearance upon completion of TB treatment and were deemed cured of tuberculosis and one was transferred to IPR for a case of isoniazid-resistant tuberculosis. 

Conclusion:

Inpatient DOTS was effective in increasing compliance and treatment success rates in our district population. The study demonstrates that inpatient DOTS can achieve high treatment success rates and deem patients cured of tuberculosis. Further research is needed to determine the long-term outcomes and cost-effectiveness of this approach.

Keywords:

DOTS, tuberculosis, culture, compliance