Measurement of self-reported fixed-dose combination antituberculosis drugs therapy regimen

Objective: The World Health Organization encourages the use of fixed-dose combinations (FDC) of rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide and ethambutol for the treatment of TB. This study was aimed to determine the rate of medication adherence of the patient with indicators including right dose, right frequency, right interval, right time to take the medication, and right duration of drug therapy. Method: This cross-sectional study applied self-reported questionnaire as the research instrument that was administered to a total of 249 TB patients at primary health care centers in Surabaya, Indonesia. This questionnaire uses the Guttman scale consisting of statements about patient behavior in taking FDC drugs. Completing this questionnaire was accompanied by the researcher after the patient received an explanation before approval and filled out informed consent. Data collection was carried out for 3 months from July to September 2018. The data analysis using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) version 18 for Windows. Results: Based on research data, there were 103 (41,37%) patients of total 249 TB patients who met the adherence of the FDC antituberculosis drugs therapy regimen with five indicators including right dose, right frequency, right interval, right time to take the medication, and right duration of drug therapy. Conclusion: Medication of the FDC antituberculosis drug is not only taken by mouth but must be taken according to the indicator of therapeutic regimen including right dose according to the number of caplets, right frequency as the amounts of TB medicine caplets every time, right interval at the same time every time, right time to take the medication in 2 hours before meal or 4 hours after meal on an empty stomach, and right duration of drug therapy as scheduled.