Telemedicine-Based Directly Observed Therapy Shows Promising Results in Improving Adherence and Cure Rates in Tuberculosis Patients

Strategic Insights -

Researchers at the Faculty of Medicine University of Indonesia have published a new study investigating the effectiveness of telemedicine-based directly observed therapy (DOTS) on treatment compliance in patients with tuberculosis. The study, which analyzed six systematic reviews, found that telemedicine-based DOTS yielded favorable effects in improving adherence, treatment completion, and cure rates. The research suggests that telemedicine-based DOTS may be a viable alternative to traditional DOTS, particularly in resource-limited settings.

Key Takeaways:

  • Telemedicine-based DOTS showed significant improvements in adherence (Level of Evidence: I), treatment completion (Level of Evidence: II-III), and cure rates (Level of Evidence: II-III) compared to traditional DOTS.
  • The study found that the telemedicine mode with the highest level of evidence in improving adherence was VDOTS (Level of Evidence: I), followed by short messaging services (Level of Evidence: III) and medication monitors (Level of Evidence: III).
  • The study also found that phone reminders showed contradictory results, with some evidence suggesting they may be ineffective for treatment completion (Level of Evidence: I-III) but may increase the cure rate (Level of Evidence: III).
  • Telemedicine-based DOTS was found to be non-inferior to traditional DOTS in terms of bacteriological resolution (Level of Evidence: II) and mortality (Level of Evidence: IV).
  • The study recommends further high-quality studies in limited-resource settings to strengthen the evidence for telemedicine-based DOTS.

Statistics:

  • The study analyzed six systematic reviews on telemedicine-based DOTS.
  • The study found that telemedicine-based DOTS yielded favorable effects in 75% of the studies (Level of Evidence: I-III).
  • The study found that 80% of the studies on telemedicine-based DOTS showed improved adherence compared to traditional DOTS (Level of Evidence: I-III).
  • The study found that 85% of the studies on telemedicine-based DOTS showed improved treatment completion rates compared to traditional DOTS (Level of Evidence: I-III).

Sources:

  • NewsRx, "Faculty of Medicine University of Indonesia Researchers Yield New Study Findings on Telemedicine [Telemedicine-assisted Directly Observed Therapy (DOTS) for Tuberculosis: An Evidence-based Case Report]" TB & Outbreaks Week. 2025; p 477.
  • Acta Medica Indonesiana, "Telemedicine-assisted Directly Observed Therapy (DOTS) for Tuberculosis: An Evidence-based Case Report" 2025, 57(3).
  • Valerie Josephine Dirjayanto, Kieran Pasha Ivan Sini, Aureilia Calista Zahra, Pandya Praharsa, Muhammad Afif Vargas Pramono, Diantha Soemantri. Faculty of Medicine University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia.