Loss follow up for standard anti-tuberculosis drug treatment: which is the common age group? – a report from endemic area in Indochina.

Sriwijitalai W, Forcanes P. Loss follow up for standard anti-tuberculosis drug treatment: which is the common age group? – a report from endemic area in Indochina. Adv Trop Med Pub Health Int. 2019; 9: 31 - 35. ABSTRACT Tuberculosis is an important common problematic respiratory tract infection that is common in poor countries. This disease is prevalent in Indochina in the present day. There is a requirement for proper management of the infection by active case diagnosis and prompt treatment by standard anti-tuberculosis drug treatment regimen. The important consideration of the standard anti-tuberculosis drug treatment is the completeness of the treatment course. Loss of follow up is a common problem in the developing countries. In the present report, the authors hereby summarize the data on the standard anti-tuberculosis drug treatment in a rural province of Thailand, a country located at tropical Indochina. The authors specifically analyzed on the clinical epidemiology of the patients with loss follow up. It can show that the a common group of the patients with loss follow up problem to standard anti-tuberculosis drug treatment course is the geriatric patient. The additional public health manipulation with special focus to manage the geriatric patients with tuberculosis to increase the compliance and attachment to standard anti-tuberculosis drug treatment course is necessary. Key words: tuberculosis, follow up, loss, age