Mine Health and Safety Act, 1996 (Act No. 29 of 1996)NoticesGuidance Note for a Management and Control Programme for Tuberculosis in the South African Mining IndustryPart B : Author's Guide9. Treatment outcomes |
Treatment outcomes should be classified as follows:
| Cured: | Patient whose baseline smear (or culture) was positive at the beginning and who is smear-negative (or culture negative) in the last month of treatment and on at least one previous occasion at least 30 days prior to the last month of treatment. |
| Treatment completed: | Patient whose baseline smear (or culture) was positive at the beginning and has completed treatment but does not have a negative smear/culture in the last month of treatment and on at least one previous occasion more than 30 days prior. |
| Treatment failure: | Patient whose baseline smear (or culture) was positive and remains or becomes positive again at 5 months or later during treatment. |
| Died: | Patient who dies for any reason during the course of TB treatment. (see note below) |
| Treatment default: | Patient whose treatment was interrupted for more than two consecutive months before the end of the treatment period. |
| Transfer out: | Patient who has been transferred by the employer to another reporting unit (e.g. district, province or country) and for whom the treatment outcome is not known. |
| NOTE: | In addition, deaths while on treatment should be sub-classified as: |
(i) Those due to TB;
(ii) Those due to other causes; and
(iii) Those in which the cause of death could not be determined.
Where autopsies are requested, these should be performed with appropriate consent of the relatives. Autopsy results should be requested from the NIOH in order to determine compensation where indicated.