Use of Rifapentine and Isoniazid Directly Observed Therapy for the Treatment of Latent Tuberculosis Infection in a Military Clinic.

BACKGROUND: There are 8.6 million cases of active tuberculosis (TB) worldwide, and an estimated one-third of the world population has latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). In the United States, up to 80% of active cases may be caused by untreated reactivated latent infection. A case of TB can spread rapidly impacting the readiness of a unit. To prevent the development of TB, it is critical that active duty service members with LTBI complete treatment. The use of isoniazid (INH) and rifapentine (RPT) as a directly observed therapy (DOT) treatment option was recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in late 2011. Since then, there have been limited studies on the use of this treatment regimen in a civilian clinic setting and to our knowledge no studies within a military setting. METHODS: This study compares the completion rate of LTBI treatment in 2 military public health clinics, using a retrospective chart review of 179 subjects who attempted treatment with INH/RPT DOT and 186 with the non-INH/RPT non-DOT regimen. FINDINGS: When compared to other LTBI regimens completed or attempted in this period, completion rates were higher in INH/RPT DOT regimens. The INH/RPT DOT treatment regimen allowed enough flexibility with completion between 11 and 16 weeks for active duty service members to increase completion to 94.6%, compared to 73% in the non-INH/RPT regimen. RECOMMENDATIONS: This project demonstrated the feasibility of INH/RPT DOT treatment within the military population resulting in a higher completion rate than the non-INH/RPT non-DOT regimen. The use of the INH/RPT DOT regimen should be considered for use in all military or similar populations.

Enhancing management of tuberculosis treatment with video directly observed therapy in New York City.

SETTING: Directly observed therapy (DOT), the standard of care for monitoring patients on treatment for tuberculosis (TB), requires substantial health department resources, and can be inconvenient and disruptive for patients. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether video technology for remote observation of patients on anti-tuberculosis treatment (VDOT) is as effective as in-person DOT. DESIGN: Eligible TB patients in New York City were prospectively enrolled in VDOT from September 2013 to September 2014. We compared treatment outcomes and worker output for VDOT and in-person DOT. RESULTS: Among 390 patients on DOT for the treatment of TB, 61 (16%) were on VDOT and 329 (84%) on in-person DOT. Adherence to scheduled VDOT sessions was 95% (3292/3455) compared to 91% (32 204/35 442) with in-person DOT (>P < 0.01). VDOT enabled a DOT worker to observe a maximum of 25 patients per day, similar to DOT workers who observed patients in clinic (n = 25), but twice that of DOT workers who observed patients in the community (n = 12). Treatment completion with VDOT was similar to that with in-person DOT (96% vs. 97%, P = 0.63). The primary problems encountered during VDOT sessions were interruption of video and audio connectivity. CONCLUSION: Implementation of VDOT resulted in successful anti-tuberculosis treatment outcomes while maximizing health department resources.

Use of eCompliance, an innovative biometric system for monitoring of tuberculosis treatment in rural Uganda.

Directly observed therapy short-course (DOTS) requires direct observation of tuberculosis (TB) patients and manual recording of doses taken. Programmatically, manual tracking is both time-consuming and prone to human error. Our project in western Uganda assessed the impact on TB treatment outcomes of a comprehensive patient support program including eCompliance, a biometric medical record device, with the aim of increasing TB patient retention. Through an observational study of 142 patients, DOTS outcomes of patients in the intervention group were compared with two control groups. Descriptive statistical comparisons, case-cohort analysis, and difference in change over time were used to assess the impact. Intervention patients had a higher cure rate than all other patients (55.6% versus 28.3% [P < 0.01]) and the odds of having a "cured" outcome were 3.17 higher (P < 0.05). The intervention group had a statistically significantly lower odds of having a negative outcome (0% versus.17% [P < 0.01]) than patients from the control groups. Additionally, the intervention group had a lost to follow-up rate lower than all other groups (0% versus 7%) that was trending on significant. In resource-limited settings, implementing comprehensive DOTS including eCompliance may reduce the occurrence of negative DOTS outcomes for patients.

A pilot study of electronic directly observed therapy to improve hydroxyurea adherence in pediatric patients with sickle-cell disease.

BACKGROUND: Poor hydroxyurea (HU) adherence limits effective HU use in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Electronic directly observed therapy (DOT) may limit costs and achieve high HU adherence in children with SCD. This study aimed to determine if electronic DOT was feasible, acceptable, and could achieve ≥ 90% HU adherence. PROCEDURE: Children with SCD were recruited for this single institution, 6-month pilot study if they had been prescribed HU for ≥ 6 months and had daily access to a smartphone or computer. Participants submitted HU administration videos daily and received electronic reminder alerts, personalized feedback, and incentives to encourage adherence as part of electronic DOT. Primary outcomes were feasibility, participant satisfaction with electronic DOT, and HU adherence. Secondary outcomes included mean corpuscular volume (MCV), hemoglobin F percentage (HbF), and overall participant satisfaction with HU therapy. RESULTS: Of 15 enrolled participants, 14 completed the study. Satisfaction surveys showed electronic DOT reminded participants to take HU and could be completed in fewer than 5 minutes daily. Participants' median medication possession ratio at study entry improved from 0.75 (0.59-0.82) to 0.91 (0.85-1.00) (P = 0.02) at the end of the study. Overall median observed HU adherence with electronic DOT was 93.3%. Median MCV and HbF increased from 96.0 to 107.2 (P = 0.009) and 10.5 to 11.4 (P = 0.03), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates electronic DOT is feasible, acceptable, and can achieve high HU adherence. Further study is needed to confirm that electronic DOT can improve HU adherence and impact clinical outcomes in children with SCD.

Telemonitoring of medication adherence in patients with major mental illness: watching the patient as well as the pills.

Many patients with major mental illness do not take their medication. This leads to repeated relapses. Some of these patients are managed by clinicians who visit the patient seven days a week long term and supervise their taking of medication. This paper explores the design and implementation of an Android telemonitoring application to supervise patients taking medication in their homes.

A digital health solution for using and managing medications: wirelessly observed therapy.

Taking oral medication on a prescribed schedule can be a nuisance, especially for elderly individuals and busy people with lots of things on their minds. Nonetheless, taking medication as prescribed is important for maintaining health and well-being. In cases where medication use is part of a clinical trial, taking prescribed medication is important to the entire investigation and outcome of the study, including the determination of whether a drug is effective and safe.

Validity and reliability of a physical activity recall instrument among overweight and non-overweight men and women.

This study examined the validity and reliability of survey items measuring one-week recall of physical activity (PA) and examined differences by weight status. A sub-aim of the study was to objectively assess the intensity of activity that most closely matches self-report. A questionnaire was administered to adults twice, three days apart. It was again administered after subjects wore a MTI/CSA accelerometer for seven days (n = 118). Several metabolic equivalent (MET) thresholds were applied to the accelerometer data. Agreement between test and re-test estimates of sufficient physical activity for health benefits (150 min/week) was high (% agreement > 90%). Correlations (rho) between total reported PA (mins/day) and accelerometer data were 0.29 (p < 0.05) among men and 0.25 (p < 0.05) among women. Among men, self-reported duration of moderate PA (3-5.9 METS) and accelerometer data were significantly correlated (rho = 0.40, p < 0.01), with no differences by weight status. Among women, a significant relationship was found only for those who were not overweight (rho = 0.52, p < 0.001). A significant correlation between self-reported duration of vigorous PA (6+ METS) and accelerometer data was only found for overweight men (rho = 0.40, p < 0.05). When lower MET thresholds were applied to the accelerometer data, women's reported duration of moderate-intensity PA was most strongly correlated with moderate PA (accelerometer) defined as 2.0-5.9 METS (rho = 0.39, p < 0.01). The recall instrument provides a consistent measure of physical activity and validation coefficients were similar to those obtained for other physical activity recall questionnaires. However, the ability to measure PA by self-report may vary by weight status.

Adherence to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor therapy for heart failure.

This study examined adherence to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor therapy among 171 heart failure clinic patients. Adherence was monitored over a 3-month period with an electronic event monitor housed in a medication bottle cap, which recorded the date and time the cap was opened and closed. The average percentage of days that the prescribed number of doses (regimen adherence) was taken over the observation period was 84%. Seventy-one percent of patients showed 85%-100% adherence with their daily regimen; 19% exhibited less than 70% adherence. The overall high rates of adherence to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor therapy observed among heart failure clinic patients is consistent with research that shows improved outcomes for patients managed in heart failure clinics. Electronic medication monitoring can be useful in identifying a substantial fraction of patients who are poorly adherent so that interventions to improve adherence can be targeted toward them. Additional research is needed to develop and test adherence-enhancing interventions.