Table 6.

Practices of paediatricians regarding nonresponse to anti-TB treatment and diagnosis of drug-resistance among children.

Practices regarding nonresponse to treatment	Number	Percent
Time of suspecting nonresponse to treatment (n = 50)
Within three months of initiation of therapy	45	90.0
After four or more months of therapy	5	10.0
Action taken when nonresponse is suspected (n = 58)∗
Advise sputum culture and drug sensitivity test$	35	60.3
Advise HIV test	26	44.8
Prescribe another regimen	23	39.7
Refer the patient	6	10.3
Assess compliance and related reasons of nonresponse	6	10.3
Extension of intensive phase	1	1.7
Time of requesting sputum culture and drug sensitivity for rifampicin in cases suspected for presence of drug-resistance (n = 50)
After one month of treatment with first regimen (too early)	3	6.0
After two or three months of treatment with first regimen#	24	48.0
After nonresponse to second regimen (too late)	23	46.0
Conditions when drug-resistance is suspected at beginning of treatment (n = 31)∗
Contact with a case of drug-resistance TB#	21	67.7
Coinfection with HIV	10	32.3
History of previous treatment for TB#	4	12.9
Basis of diagnosis of drug-resistant TB (n = 51)
Including bacteriological test	48	94.1
Bacteriological and clinical	30	58.8
Bacteriological, clinical, and radiological	14	27.5
Bacteriological alone	3	5.9
Bacteriological and radiological	1	2.0
Excluding bacteriological test	3	5.9
Clinical alone	1	2.0
Clinical and radiological	2	3.9

^∗Multiple responses; ^$these 35 include 13 who also prescribe another regimen; ^#as per ISTC standard.