Treatment initiation and Compliance among TB patients in Addis Ababa

A hospital based descriptive and longitudinal study with internal comparIson was carried out to describe the treatment initiation pattern and compliance rate among tuberculosis patients . All government health center providing tuberculosis treatment were part of the study, patients were interviewed by nurses in health center. The study was carried out in Addis Ababa between May 9 1997 to September 25 1997. A total of 765 newly diagnosed tuberculosis patients were enrolled in the study. The median time from the onset of the illness until the initial medical consultation was 2 months (patient's delay). This delay was longer in uneducated patients. Fifty percent of patients were put on treatment with correct diagnosis within 10 days of first consultation (doctor's delay). Almost all patients had at least one symptom suggestive of tuberculosis at presentation and mean number of consultations before diagnosis was two . Patients who first visited private clinic had shorter doctor's delay than those who first saw government health institutions. The median total delay was three months at the time of treatment initiation. Overall patients compliance during the intensive phase of DOTS was 97 %. The study concluded that the public should be educated about the early symptoms of tuberculosis and the need to seek early medical attention particularly, those with little or no formal education.