Directly observed treatment, short-course

Directly observed treatment, short-course (DOTS, also known as TB-DOTS) is the name given to the tuberculosis (TB) control strategy recommended by the World Health Organization.^[1] According to WHO, "The most cost-effective way to stop the spread of TB in communities with a high incidence is by curing it. The best curative method for TB is known as DOTS."^[2] DOTS has five main components:

Government commitment (including political will at all levels, and establishment of a centralized and prioritized system of TB monitoring, recording and training)
Case detection by sputum smear microscopy
Standardized treatment regimen directly of six to nine months observed by a healthcare worker or community health worker for at least the first two months
Drug supply
A standardized recording and reporting system that allows assessment of treatment results

^ As of 1997, in its revised guidelines for national TB control programs, WHO increasingly stopped spelling out the DOTS acronym. This was due to the perceived overemphasis on the directly observed therapy component (DOT), which is only one of the five essential components of DOTS. See Treatment of TB: Guidelines for National Programmes. World Health Organization. WHO/TB/97.220. 1997
^ "Tuberculosis." WHO factsheet (revised). No. 104. March 1996.

[1] As of 1997, in its revised guidelines for national TB control programs, WHO increasingly stopped spelling out the DOTS acronym. This was due to the perceived overemphasis on the directly observed therapy component (DOT), which is only one of the five essential components of DOTS. See Treatment of TB: Guidelines for National Programmes. World Health Organization. WHO/TB/97.220. 1997

[2] "Tuberculosis." WHO factsheet (revised). No. 104. March 1996.

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