In an effort to assess the efficacy of various tuberculosis (TB) treatment packages in Pakistan, researchers studied nearly 500 adults with new sputum-positive TB. Of the 497 adults, 170 were put into a directly observed therapy, short-course (DOTS) treatment program with observation by health workers, 165 were put into DOTS program requiring a family member observe the treatment, and 162 were assigned self-administered treatment. The trial was conducted at three different clinical sites that provided World Health Organization-sanctioned TB services that included a standard daily, short-course, eight-month drug therapy program. The researchers found that within the safety net of the service clinics, all the DOTS programs, regardless of observation, type gave similar outcomes. The patient cure rate using the DOT health worker observation component was 64 percent, while the rate for the group using family observation was 55 percent and self-administered treatment was 62 percent. According to the authors, none of the three strategies appear to be superior over the other, and they noted that direct observation of treatment did not further boost cure rates.

Other CDC News for March 15, 2001

Effectiveness of the Direct Observation Component of DOTS for Tuberculosis: a Randomized Controlled Trial in Pakistan Maker Yielding Patent in Africa for AIDS Drug Antiviral Cocktails Cut Cost of Treating Patients With HIV South Africa Resists Call for AIDS Emergency	As AIDS Grows For Minorities, So Does Funding; Groups Assisting City's Blacks, Latinos Win Increased Support The Danger of Living "Down Low"; Black Men Who Hide Their Bisexuality Can Put Women at Risk A New AIDS Strategy Brazil to Launch AIDS Vaccine Human Trials in April
Mogae Warns Botswana Faces Extinction From AIDS