Background: The Revised National Tuberculosis Control programme (RNTCP), India.
Aim: To assess the impact of the expansion of the RNTCP in the case detection and treatment outcome.
Materials and methods: Reports of patients with tuberculosis (TB) diagnosed and treated under RNTCP from 2001 to 2005 under Bagbazar TB unit (TU), Kolkata, reviewed retrospectively.
Results: Of 2814 cases registered between 2001 and 2005, 1268 were new smear-positive pulmonary TB (PTB), 308 were new smear-negative PTB and 536 were new extrapulmonary TB (EPTB). During that period, the new smear-positive case detection rate increased from 41 to 61 per lakh population, the annual total case detection rate increased from 87 to 142 per lakh and the treatment success rate reduced from 90% to 76%. The default and failure rates increased from 7% to 10% and from 3% to 10%, respectively.
Conclusion: A steady increase was observed in the annual total case detection rate and annual new smear-positive case detection rate from 2001 to 2005, but the 3-month conversion rate and cure rate of new smear-positive patients were progressively decreased. Default rate and treatment failure rate of new smear-positive patients were also increased. So it needs extra attention and evaluation of this disappointing treatment outcome.
Keywords: Directly observed treatment-short course; India; Kolkata; revised national tuberculosis control programme; tuberculosis.