Knowledge, attitude and practices regarding tuberculosis and dots among interns in delhi, India.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding tuberculosis (TB) and DOTS among young medical graduates (interns).

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY

Lady Hardinge Medical College and Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India, during November and December 2002, simultaneously.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

A pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire consisting of 30 items was administered to the young medical graduates/interns posted in different departments. The questions covered mode of transmission, symptoms of pulmonary TB, investigations, short course chemotherapy including DOTS as well as conventional anti-tubercular treatment, special situations, health education and chemoprophylaxis.

RESULTS

A total of 287 interns were surveyed. Majority of the study subjects (92.7%) ranked DOTS strategy as more successful for treating tuberculosis in comparison to self-administered therapy. However, a mere 4.2% study subjects were aware of all modes of transmission. One hundred and eighty-nine (65.9%) correctly chose sputum examination for acid fast bacilli as the single most confirmatory test for diagnosing pulmonary TB. The rest either gave incorrect responses (including ELISA-17.0%, PCR-9.8%, X-ray chest-4.2%, ESR-1.7%) or did not respond (1.4%). Only 2.1% marked pyrazinamide and rifampicin as the agents to be avoided in patients with liver disease. One hundred and forty-one different treatment regimens were mentioned in the responses received and of those only 11(7.8%) were scientifically acceptable.

CONCLUSION

TB is a major health problem in South-East Asian countries. There is a need for appropriate changes to be made in the undergraduate medical teaching/training curriculum in the concerned countries with regard to TB.