Community-based treatment of advanced HIV disease: introducing DOT-HAART (directly observed therapy with highly active antiretroviral therapy).
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In 2000, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) overtook tuberculosis (TB) as the world's leading infectious cause of adult deaths. In affluent countries, however, AIDS mortality has dropped sharply, largely because of the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Antiretroviral agents are not yet considered essential medications by international public health experts and are not widely used in the poor countries where human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) takes its greatest toll. Arguments against the use of HAART have mainly been based on the high cost of medications and the lack of the infrastructure necessary for using them wisely. We re- examine these arguments in the setting of rising AIDS mortality in developing countries and falling drug prices, and describe a small community-based treatment programme based on lessons gained in TB control. With the collaboration of Haitian community health workers experienced in the delivery of home-based and directly observed treatment for TB, an AIDS-prevention project was expanded to deliver HAART to a subset of HIV patients deemed most likely to benefit. The inclusion criteria and preliminary results are presented. We conclude that directly observed therapy (DOT) with HAART, "DOT-HAART", can be delivered effectively in poor settings if there is an uninterrupted supply of high-quality drugs. (+info)
Linking private and public sectors in tuberculosis treatment in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.
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Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem and the world's foremost cause of death from a single infectious agent. Despite the increasing number of TB patients who seek help in the private sector, there are few practical examples of how to create a public/private linkage of TB services. The paper presents a pilot service-linkage project between the public and private sector in TB control in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. The study documents and examines the process of the service-linkage project through the undertaking of a longitudinal analytical case study. A detailed description of the project from formulation to a short-term evaluation is given. The analysis relates the activities and early outcomes of the service-linkage project to the context, characteristics and interactions of the organizations involved. The study reveals that although the involved organizations initially agreed on the objective of the service-linkage project, differences in capacity, motivation, environment and needs had implications for the implementation and short-term success of the project. The public sector, despite the will, did not have the structure or resources to engage with the private sector. The private sector lacked interest in public health aspects of TB treatment and trust in the public sector. The study points to two different organizations that have the potential capacities to act as mediators between the public and private sectors: international research institutions and non-governmental organizations. (+info)
Directly observed therapy for the treatment of people with human immunodeficiency virus infection: a work in progress.
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The principle of directly observed therapy (DOT) has its roots in the treatment of tuberculosis (TB), for which DOT programs have improved cure rates in hard-to-reach populations. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and TB affect similar populations, and there are concerns about both regarding the development of drug resistance associated with poor adherence to therapy. Accordingly, DOT may benefit certain HIV-infected people who have difficulty adhering to highly active antiretroviral therapy. However, important differences exist in the treatment of these diseases that raise questions about how DOT can be adapted to HIV therapy. DOT for management of HIV infection has been effective among prisoners and in pilot programs in Haiti, Rhode Island, and Florida. Although DOT can successfully treat HIV infection in marginalized populations in the short term, a multitude of questions remain. This review provides an account of the preliminary development of DOT programs for the treatment of HIV-infected individuals. (+info)
Interventions to reduce tuberculosis mortality and transmission in low- and middle-income countries.
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Tuberculosis is among the top ten causes of global mortality and affects low-income countries in particular. This paper examines, through a literature review, the impact of tuberculosis control measures on tuberculosis mortality and transmission, and constraints to scaling-up. It also provides estimates of the effectiveness of various interventions using a model proposed by Styblo. It concludes that treatment of smear-positive tuberculosis using the WHO directly observed treatment, short-course (DOTS) strategy has by far the highest impact. While BCG immunization reduces childhood tuberculosis mortality, its impact on tuberculosis transmission is probably minimal. Under specific conditions, an additional impact on mortality and transmission can be expected through treatment of smear-negative cases, intensification of case-finding for smear-positive tuberculosis, and preventive therapy among individuals with dual tuberculosis-HIV infection. Of these interventions, DOTS is the most cost-effective at around US$ 5-40 per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) gained. The cost for BCG immunization is likely to be under US$ 50 per DALY gained. Treatment of smear-negative patients has a cost per DALY gained of up to US$ 100 in low-income countries, and up to US$ 400 in middle-income settings. Other interventions, such as preventive therapy for HIV-positive individuals, appear to be less cost-effective. The major constraint to scaling up DOTS is lack of political commitment, resulting in shortages of funding and human resources for tuberculosis control. However, in recent years there have been encouraging signs of increasing political commitment. Other constraints are related to involvement of the private sector, health sector reform, management capacity of tuberculosis programmes, treatment delivery, and drug supply. Global tuberculosis control could benefit strongly from technical innovation, including the development of a vaccine giving good protection against smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis in adults; simpler and shorter drug regimens for treatment of tuberculosis disease and infection; and improved diagnostics for tuberculosis infection and disease. (+info)
Costs and cost-effectiveness of different DOT strategies for the treatment of tuberculosis in Pakistan. Directly Observed Treatment.
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An economic study was conducted alongside a clinical trial at three sites in Pakistan to establish the costs and effectiveness of different strategies for implementing directly observed treatment (DOT) for tuberculosis. Patients were randomly allocated to one of three arms: DOTS with direct observation by health workers (at health centres or by community health workers); DOTS with direct observation by family members; and DOTS without direct observation. The clinical trial found no statistically significant difference in cure rate for the different arms. The economic study collected data on the full range of health service costs and patient costs of the different treatment arms. Data were also disaggregated by gender, rural and urban patients, by treatment site and by economic categories, to investigate the costs of the different strategies, their cost-effectiveness and the impact that they might have on patient compliance with treatment. The study found that direct observation by health centre-based health workers was the least cost-effective of the strategies tested (US dollars 310 per case cured). This is an interesting result, as this is the model recommended by the World Health Organization and International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. Attending health centres daily during the first 2 months generated high patient costs (direct and in terms of time lost), yet cure rates for this group fell below those of the non-observed group (58%, compared with 62%). One factor suggested by this study is that the high costs of attending may be deterring patients, and in particular, economically active patients who have most to lose from the time taken by direct observation. Without stronger evidence of benefits, it is hard to justify the costs to health services and patients that this type of direct observation imposes. The self-administered group came out as most cost-effective (164 dollars per case cured). The community health worker sub-group achieved the highest cure rates (67%), with a cost per case only slightly higher than the self-administered group (172 dollars per case cured). This approach should be investigated further, along with other approaches to improving patient compliance. (+info)
The DOTS strategy in China: results and lessons after 10 years.
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OBJECTIVE: To analyse the five-point tuberculosis (TB) strategy, DOTS, 10 years after its implementation in one-half of China's population, and to suggest lessons for future implementation of the DOTS strategy. METHODS: We analysed trends in case-finding and treatment outcome over time following implementation of the DOTS strategy in each county, using routine reporting data from the Infectious and Endemic Disease Control (IEDC) project (1991 - 2000). We also determined the proportion of counties with different levels of case-finding for the fifth and sixth years of DOTS implementation. FINDINGS: From 1991 to 1995, DOTS expanded rapidly to cover more than 90% of target population and counties. By 2000, 8 million TB suspects had received free diagnostic evaluation: 1.8 million TB cases were diagnosed, free treatment was provided to 1.3 million smear-positive cases, and more than 90% were cured. During DOTS implementation, the percentage of previously treated cases decreased among all smear-positive cases and treatment outcomes improved. Despite these achievements, the detection rate for new smear-positive cases in the project was estimated to be only 54% in 1998, and 41.2% of the counties had a below average or low level of case-finding (with substantial variation between provinces). CONCLUSIONS: The IEDC project demonstrated that it is feasible to rapidly expand DOTS on a large scale. The global target of an 85% cure rate was quickly achieved, and the level of drug-resistance was probably reduced by this project. However, case-detection did not reach the 70% global target, and more research is needed on how to enhance this. (+info)
Low access to a highly effective therapy: a challenge for international tuberculosis control.
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OBJECTIVE: To determine the scale of the tuberculosis (TB) problem facing the international Stop TB Partnership by measuring the gap between present rates of case detection and treatment success, and the global targets (70% and 85%, respectively) to be reached by 2005 under the WHO DOTS strategy. METHODS: We analysed case notifications submitted annually to WHO from up to 202 (of 210) countries and territories between 1980 and 2000, and the results of treatment for patients registered between 1994 and 1999. FINDINGS: Many of the 148 national DOTS programmes in existence by the end of 2000 have shown that they can achieve high treatment success rates, close to or exceeding the target of 85%. However, we estimate that only 27% of all the new smear-positive cases that arose in 2000 were notified under DOTS, and only 19% were successfully treated. The increment in case-finding has been steady at about 133 000 additional smear-positive cases in each year since 1994. In the interval 1999- 2000, more than half of the extra cases notified under DOTS were in Ethiopia, India, Myanmar, the Philippines, and South Africa. CONCLUSION: With the current rate of progress in DOTS expansion, the target of 70% case detection will not be reached until 2013. To reach this target by 2005, DOTS programmes must find an additional 333 000 cases each year. The challenge now is to show that DOTS expansion in the major endemic countries can significantly accelerate case finding while maintaining high cure rates. (+info)
Rapid DOTS expansion in India.
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Since late 1998 the coverage of the DOTS strategy in India has been expanded rapidly. In both 2000 and 2001 the country probably accounted for more than half the global increase in the number of patients treated under DOTS and by early 2002 more than a million patients were being treated in this way in India. As a result, nearly 200 000 lives were saved. The lessons learnt relate to the importance of the following elements of the programme: (1) getting the science right and ensuring technical excellence; (2) building commitment and ensuring the provision of funds and flexibility in their utilization; (3) maintaining focus and priorities; (4) systematically appraising each area before starting service delivery; (5) ensuring an uninterrupted drug supply; (6) strengthening the established infrastructure and providing support for staff; (7) supporting the infrastructure required in urban areas; (8) ensuring full-time independent technical support and supervision, particularly during the initial phases of implementation; (9) monitoring intensively and giving timely feedback; and (10) continuous supervision. Tuberculosis (TB) control still faces major challenges in India. To reach its potential, the control programme needs to: continue to expand so as to cover the remaining half of the country, much of which has a weaker health infrastructure than the areas already covered; increase its reach in the areas already covered so that a greater proportion of patients is treated; ensure sustainability; improve the patient-friendliness of services; confront TB associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. It is expected that HIV will increase the number of TB cases by at least 10% and by a considerably higher percentage if HIV becomes much more widespread. India's experience shows that DOTS can achieve high case-detection and cure rates even with imperfect technology and often with an inadequate public health infrastructure. However, this can only happen if the delivery programme is appropriately designed and effectively managed. (+info)