UCH introduces DOC to tackle tuberculosis

Chief Medical Director,University College Hospital( UCH) Prof. Temitope Alonge said with the introduction of the Direct Observation System (DOC), tuberculosis patients can be assured complete cure.

His words " Now with the introduction of the Direct Observation System (DOC), it allows us to treat the patients in the hospital, ensure that they take their drugs regularly.The Doc treatment is about 8months but I think they are even planning to bring it down to about 6months because drug combination now is going to allow the patients to comply and also with the encouragement they have and a lot of incentive given to them, they are quite happy to take all their medications. We are happy that they changed from old first line drugs, now drugs can be easily administered and compliance is a lot better.

Alonge while speaking at the UCH / Damien foundation and turning of the SOD of the new tuberculosis treatment center on in Ibadan said the introduction of a Direct observation treatment system( DOC) will also help to transcurb multi drug resistance.

On the historical perspective about tuberculosis, he explained 'what happened before was that the drug they were using to treat tuberculosis patients were not really large in sizes but were voluminous in quantity, and so patients having those medication normally get very worked up and they are not happy to take the medication'
'These drugs are not the best in term of taste, patients  take about 8 tablets at a time and 3 times a day making 24, so the compliance is technically zero.

While assuring the tuberculosis patients a complete cure without any recurrence, Alonge maintained that impression the patients have before was that despite what they take, they properly will not get out of the mood. " Now the news is that the multi drug resistance which can be treated for nine months as well as they make it a lot easier for the patients to comply and we believe that with this effort,we will be able to get a lot out of this disease " He added.

Country Representative of Damien Foundation ( Belgium) Dr Othman Eltayab described multi drug resistance tuberculosis as a form of mismanagement of quality acceptable drug.

According to him" From late 90s,most of the patients that are receiving treatment were not cured and we started to look at the cause of the problem, however with the kind of quality drug that are being provided by the international tuberculosis programme, we realized that some of the patients develop drug resistance tuberculosis".

Eltayab who stressed that the foundation will be supporting almost 7 centres in south West said with the support of the International tuberculosis Programme patients will receive sound treatment.

Director, Preventive Care treatment, Institute of Human Virology Nigeria( IHVN) Dr. Ernest Ekong said the more resistance the more difficult it is to manage.
" Originally when you have many tuberculosis patients using normal drug but after a while if you don't manage well, you can become resistance to the drug you are using".