Factors responsible for default among patients under the revised national tuberculosis control programme

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It infects the lungs and causes pulmonary tuberculosis. But it can affect any organ in the human body. Defaulting from treatment has been one of the major obstacles to treatment management and an important challenge for tuberculosis control programmes. Defaulting from therapy is the main reason for its prevalence in our society, leading to relapse and multi-drug resistance TB cases. This study has been done to determine the causes of default among patients undergoing treatment under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) and their rectification.