A randomised controlled trial to evaluate a medication monitoring system for TB treatment.

Adherence to TB treatment and therefore treatment success could be improved using digital adherence technology. To evaluate the effectiveness of a medication event reminder monitor system (MERM) on treatment success and treatment adherence in patients with drug-susceptible pulmonary TB in Perú. This was an experimental, randomised, open-label, controlled study conducted among patients in the second phase of TB treatment. The intervention group received their medications through MERM with the support of a treatment monitor, whereas the control group used the usual strategy. Participants were followed until they completed the 54 doses of the second phase of treatment. The study included 53 patients in each group; four in the intervention group withdrew from the study. Treatment success was significantly more frequent in the MERM group (RR 1.15, 95% CI 1.02-1.30; = 0.0322). There was no significant difference in the adherence outcomes; however, the percentage of patients who missed at least one dose and patients with more than 10% of total doses missed were lower in the intervention group. The use of MERM in the second phase of treatment showed a significant improvement in the treatment success rate in patients with drug-susceptible pulmonary TB.