Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37525114›Full record

ArticleBMC infectious diseases2023

Impact of the 99DOTS digital adherence technology on tuberculosis treatment outcomes in North India: a pre-post study.

Amy Z Chen, Ravinder Kumar, R K Baria, Pramod Kumar Shridhar, Ramnath Subbaraman, William Thies

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Amy Z ChenEverwell Health Solutions, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
Ravinder KumarWorld Health Organization, Himachal Pradesh, Shimla, India.
R K BariaDirectorate of Health Services, Himachal Pradesh, Shimla, India.
Pramod Kumar ShridharMaharishi Markandeshwar Medical College & Hospital, Kumarhatti-Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Ramnath SubbaramanDepartment of Public Health and Community Medicine and Center for Global Public Health, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, US.
William ThiesEverwell Health Solutions, Bangalore, Karnataka, India. bill@everwell.org.

Funding

World Health Organization 001
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

background99DOTS is a cellphone-based digital adherence technology. The state of Himachal Pradesh, India, made 99DOTS available to all adults being treated for drug-sensitive tuberculosis (TB) in the public sector in May 2018. While 99DOTS has engaged over 500,000 people across India, few studies have evaluated its effectiveness in improving TB treatment outcomes.

methodsWe compared treatment outcomes of adults with drug-sensitive TB before and after Himachal Pradesh's 99DOTS launch using data from India's national TB database. The pre-intervention group initiated treatment between February and October 2017 (N = 7722), and the post-intervention group between July 2018 and March 2019 (N = 8322). We analyzed engagement with 99DOTS and used multivariable logistic regression to estimate impact on favorable treatment outcomes (those marked as cured or treatment complete).

resultsIn the post-intervention group, 2746 (33.0%) people called 99DOTS at least once. Those who called did so with a wide variation in frequency (< 25% of treatment days: 24.6% of callers; 25-50% of days: 15.1% of callers, 50-75% of days: 15.7% of callers; 75-100% of days: 44.6% of callers). In the pre-intervention group, 7186 (93.1%) had favorable treatment outcomes, compared to 7734 (92.9%) in the post-intervention group. This difference was not statistically significant (OR = 0.981, 95% CI [0.869, 1.108], p = 0.758), including after controlling for individual characteristics (adjusted OR = 0.970, 95% CI [0.854, 1.102]).

conclusionsWe found no statistically significant difference in treatment outcomes before and after a large-scale implementation of 99DOTS. Additional work could help to elucidate factors mediating site-wise variations in uptake of the intervention.

Indexed as

Cell PhoneTuberculosisAdultAntitubercular AgentsHumansIndiaMedication AdherenceTechnologyTreatment OutcomeAntitubercular AgentsDigital adherence technologiesMedication adherencemHealthTuberculosis

Identifiers

PMID37525114
PMCPMC10391893

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.