Short and long-term outcomes of video observed treatment in tuberculosis patients, the Republic of Moldova

Svetlana Doltu; Ana Ciobanu; Yuliia Sereda; Ruth Persian; Luke Ravenscroft; Liana Kasyan; Nune Truzyan; Andrei Dadu; Anthony Reid

doi:10.3855/jidc.14601

Short and long-term outcomes of video observed treatment in tuberculosis patients, the Republic of Moldova

Authors

Svetlana Doltu NGO ‘AFI’, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Ana Ciobanu WHO Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark
Yuliia Sereda Independent Consultant, Kyiv, Ukraine
Ruth Persian The Behavioural Insight Teams, London, United Kingdom
Luke Ravenscroft The Behavioural Insight Teams, London, United Kingdom
Liana Kasyan American University of Armenia, Erevan, Republic of Armenia
Nune Truzyan American University of Armenia, Erevan, Republic of Armenia
Andrei Dadu WHO Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark
Anthony Reid Médecins Sans Frontières, Brussels, Belgium

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3855/jidc.14601

Keywords:

SORT IT, video observed treatment, tuberculosis, outcomes

Abstract

Introduction: The Republic of Moldova is among the 18 high priority countries for tuberculosis (TB) in Europe. This study compared adherence and short and long-term TB treatment outcomes for TB patients who experienced asynchronous Video Observed Treatment (aVOT) during three months of outpatient treatment versus Directly Observed Treatment (DOT) in operational conditions in 2016-2017 in Chisinau.

Methodology: We used secondary data from the 2016-2017 Randomized Clinical Trial (RCT) that piloted the aVOT Strategy in Chisinau and data from the national TB register. Relative risk was selected as a measure of association in analysis of treatment strategies (aVOT and DOT under operational conditions) and short and long-term treatment outcomes.

Results: From 647 TB patients included in the study, 169 followed the treatment strategy in the RCT (83 in aVOT and 86 in DOT) and 478 were on DOT in operational conditions. Those in aVOT were more likely to have favourable short-term outcome than patients with DOT in operational conditions (RR 0.07; p < 0.001). TB recurrence as an indicator for the long-term outcome, was observed in group with DOT in operational conditions (40 cases, p = 0.006).

Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the aVOT treatment strategy was associated with better adherence and both short and long-term TB treatment favourable outcomes. aVOT as a new patient-centred approach supporting TB patients on improving treatment adherence and outcomes might be recommended as an alternative to DOT strategy in the Republic of Moldova.

Downloads

Published

2021-09-29

How to Cite

Doltu S, Ciobanu A, Sereda Y, Persian R, Ravenscroft L, Kasyan L, Truzyan N, Dadu A, Reid A (2021) Short and long-term outcomes of video observed treatment in tuberculosis patients, the Republic of Moldova. J Infect Dev Ctries 15:17S-24S. doi: 10.3855/jidc.14601

Download Citation

Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 09.1: September 2021 - SUPPLEMENT

Section

EECA Regional SORT IT

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).