Assessment of Knowledge on RNTCP and DOTS Guidelines Among Nurses of a Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

 Background: India is the most populous country in the world and has one fourth of the global incident TB cases occur in India annually. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment on the part of the health care providers is essential for TB control. Their knowledge, attitude and practice have an impact on the tuberculosis patients regarding compliance to treatment and follow up. Nurses working in a variety of healthcare settings carry the bulk of the work in TB prevention, care and treatment. Methodology: This was a cross sectional study among 74 nurses. Structured self-administered questionnaire with ten questions was used for the study. Results: A large number of participants (70.3%) correctly mentioned that 2 sputum samples are collected for diagnosis. 73% of nurses responded correctly regarding how AFB specimen should be requested from the patient. Regarding the new drug Bedaquiline introduced for MDR-TB, 78.4% were aware of the drug. 83.8% had good knowledge about Designated microscopic centre. Most participants exhibited correct knowledge regarding the most common form of extra pulmonary TB; 71.6% opted TB of lymph nodes. 82.4% of the participants were aware of CBNAAT (Catridge Based NucleicAcidAmplication Test). Many nurses (60.8%) correctly mentioned that family members cannot be DOTS providers. 51.4% of the study population opted giving INH for 6 months to child <3 years who are contacts of Tb patients irrespective of their BCG status. 67.6% correctly responded that Cotrimoxazole is an effective drug in TB-HIV co infection to reduce mortality and it was only 44.7 % in the study compared. Conclusion: A good proportion of nurses had satisfactory level of knowledge on RNTCP and DOTS. However, a small fraction of nurses falls into categories of Average and poor knowledge, implying that nursing professionals still need continuing educational programs regarding treatment and control of TB.