Recommendations for Use of Video Directly Observed Therapy During Tuberculosis Treatment - United States, 2023

• Published in: MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report Vol. 72; no. 12; pp. 313 - 316
• Main Authors: Mangan, Joan M, Woodruff, Rachel S, Winston, Carla A, Nabity, Scott A, Haddad, Maryam B, Dixon, Meredith G, Parvez, Farah M, Sera-Josef, Carissa, Salmon-Trejo, LaTweika A T, Lam, Chee Kin
• Format: Journal Article Newsletter
• Language: English
• Published: United States U.S. Government Printing Office 24.03.2023; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Subjects: Analysis; Antitubercular Agents - therapeutic use; Directly Observed Therapy; Drug therapy; Full Report; Humans; Medication Adherence; Patient compliance; Practice guidelines (Medicine); Telemedicine; Tuberculosis; Tuberculosis - drug therapy; United States; United States
• ISSN: 0149-2195; 1545-861X
• DOI: 10.15585/MMWR.MM7212A4

U.S. clinical practice guidelines recommend directly observed therapy (DOT) as the standard of care for tuberculosis (TB) treatment (1). DOT, during which a health care worker observes a patient ingesting the TB medications, has typically been conducted in person. Video DOT (vDOT) uses video-enabled devices to facilitate remote interactions between patients and health care workers to promote medication adherence and clinical monitoring. Published systematic reviews, a published meta-analysis, and a literature search through 2022 demonstrate that vDOT is associated with a higher proportion of medication doses being observed and similar proportions of cases with treatment completion and microbiologic resolution when compared with in-person DOT (2-5). Based on this evidence, CDC has updated the recommendation for DOT during TB treatment to include vDOT as an equivalent alternative to in-person DOT. vDOT can assist health department TB programs meet the U.S. standard of care for patients undergoing TB treatment, while using resources efficiently.