Table 5.

Examples of Priority Situations for the Use of Directly Observed Therapy

Patients With the Following Conditions/Circumstances [17, 130, 137, 139, 430, 431]:

• Positive sputum smears

• Delayed culture conversion (sputum obtained at/after completion of intensive-phase therapy is culture-positive)

• Treatment failure

• Relapse

• Drug resistance

• Homelessness

• Current or prior substance abuse

• Use of intermittent dosing

• HIV infection

• Previous nonadherence to therapy

• Children and adolescents

• Mental, emotional or physical disability (ie, cognitive deficits such as dementia; neurological deficits; medically fragile patients; or patients with blindness or severe loss of vision)

• Resident at correctional or long-term care facility

• Previous treatment for active or latent tuberculosis

Abbreviation: HIV, human immunodeficiency virus.