The 99DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course) universal envelope is developed to avoid the complexity of weight band wise 99DOTS envelope.
The overall dispensing process is easy and can be divided into these steps:
The 99DOTS product consists of customised envelopes (see Figure 1) that fit around the tuberculosis medication blister pack distributed to patients.
Figure 1: 99DOTS Envelope
Universal Envelopes (Figure 2): Each adult patient gets the same sleeve, regardless of their weight band.
Video: Features of 99 DOTS
Treatment Support Groups play an important role in providing treatment support to TB patients. It has been envisioned as a non-statutory body of socially responsible citizens and volunteers to provide social support to TB patients. This group goes beyond just providing treatment-related support as it also helps the community in accessing information, free and quality services and linkage to social welfare programmes without compromising confidentiality and respecting the dignity of the patient.
At treatment initiation a suitable Treatment Supporter has to be identified and assigned to the Patient.
How to identify a Treatment supporter for a patient
Relationship between Cancer and Tuberculosis (TB)
TB and malignancy may be related in the following four ways:
Silicosis is a progressive and disabling interstitial lung disease caused by inhalation and deposition in the lungs of particles of free silica.
Mutual Risk of TB and Silicosis
In the cascade of care approach, all target populations (People Living with HIV (PLHIV), Household Contacts (HHCs) and other such groups) who are at risk of developing TB disease are systematically reached out, screened for TB disease and after ruling out active TB disease, provided TB Preventive Treatment (TPT) as a part of the continuum of care.
The cascade of care approach among TPT target populations is shown in Figure 1.
There are two programmatic approaches for Tuberculosis Preventive Therapy (TPT) implementation:
1. Test-and-treat approach – This approach aims to detect TB infection among key groups for implementing TPT.