“ADHERENCE TO 2ND LINE ANTI-TUBERCULAR DRUGS IN DRUG-RESISTANT TUBERCULOSIS CASES”

India aims to end tuberculosis (TB) by 2025.So we need to have high adherence to anti-TB drugs. We conducted this study to know the adherence to second line drugs for drug-resistant TB. It was a prospective-observational study conducted from November 2022 to May 2024. After obtaining informed consent from the patients, we noted their demographic profile and treatment was started by the chest physicians (not the investigator) as per the guidelines of Revised National TB Control Program PMDT (programmatic management of drug-resistant TB). Patients were followed on a monthly basis for six months, either telephonically or whenever they came for collecting monthly medicines. To assess the level of adherence, we used the eight-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) questionnaire. 228 patients were registered as drug-resistant TB cases at our institute. Of these, 199 were enrolled in the study as per the inclusion and exclusion criteria. There were 9 drop-outs and only 190 patients were considered for final statistical analysis. We found that with the advancement of time, the adherence to second line drugs for drug-resistant TB decreased despite all follow-ups. We concluded that proper patient counseling is important during follow-ups or during monthly visits of patients for collection of their medications. We need to have strategies which are adaptable and people-centered so as to increase the adherence to these drugs and can add to a better outcome.